


You've Got That Wrong!

by KlonoaDreams



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Bonding, Canonical Character Death, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Everyone Loves Naegi, Fluff and Angst, Fujisaki being cute, Fukawa being happy, Gen, Genderbending, Ishimaru being a very conflicted Moral Compass, Kirigiri being overprotective, Monokuma being a jerk, Togami being a dork, Yamada being Yamada
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2018-01-16 03:19:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 46,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1329958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlonoaDreams/pseuds/KlonoaDreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They say poor communication kills, and it definitely shows during the first trial when a certain Super High School Level Good Luck mentions one little detail that perplexes everyone. Apparently, nobody expected Makoto Naegi to be female...except Monokuma, but he doesn't count.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gender

**Author's Note:**

> So I mentioned in one of my fics that I'd make a Dangan Ronpa fic if it got enough support, so...here it is! Now there might not be much to work with right now, but that is only because it is the first chapter. Just give it some time and it’ll get better…and I’m pretty sure that I’m going to also have to eventually change this fic’s rating from T to M eventually. Just keep that in mind…  
> Since this is the start of a new fic, it would only be appropriate that I put up the standard disclaimer. Unlike before, I FINALLY have money…that I actually need for school because college is fucking expensive. So yeah…I don’t wanna get sued for every penny I have because I NEED it.
> 
> Disclaimer for whole story: I don’t own Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc or anything related to it!

If there was one thing that twelve out of the thirteen remaining students at Hopes Peak Academy weren't expecting, it was hearing Naegi Makoto point out a little fact that no one had been aware of in the past few days. It was such a small, yet very _crucial_ detail that even _Kirigiri Kyōko_ , someone who has proven to be the most deductive and observant of the group so far, had somehow missed. One thing led to another after that for the next few minutes until a certain question was asked and a point was made.

To which Naegi finally decided to say, "You are aware that I'm a girl, right?

After what had been said by Naegi, no one spoke…The only sound that could be heard in the courtroom was Monokuma's distinctive laughter. This did not bode well with Naegi.

"How could you guys think I'm a guy?!" Naegi stared agape at his, no— _ **her**_ classmates in shock.

There were a few who shifted nervously in their spots. Some were too stunned to even react. And there were a select few who managed to keep a straight face. Kirigiri was not amongst these select few, as her face lost its usual stoic expression in place of surprise and slight shame _("How did I not notice—!"_ Kirigiri finds herself thinking).

No one was most uncomfortable with this revelation than Ishimaru Kiyotaka himself, because that had made Naegi the _second_ of his female classmates that he had mistaken for male—the first being Oogami Sakura, whom had just only corrected him mere minutes ago. Once it settled in that the current suspected murderer of Maizono Sayaka was not male, as everyone had assumed, more questions arose in regards to this.

"H-How do we k-know you're not lying?!" Fukawa Touko was quick to protest as she pointed an accusing finger at Naegi.

Celestia Ludenburg, one of the few who were unfazed with the revelation, nodded her head in agreement. "Yes. How do we know you are not lying?"

It was rather ironic that the Queen of Liars, of all people, had been the one to repeat the question. If anything, it had only brought even _more_ attention to the current concerning matter now regarding Naegi Makoto—that being whether they were telling the truth or not and what pronoun was the correct one for them, now that there was doubt cast upon them. For that exact reason, all eyes were on Naegi.

"Out of curiosity, does anyone else know, Naegi-kun?" Kirigiri needed to know, because it should _not_ be possible for such a situation to occur.

Naegi paused for a moment to think…and then she frowned. "Maizono-san and Enoshima-san knew— _had_ known."

"That is…unfortunate." Kirigiri has some difficulty masking her distress. No one actually notices, but she is most certain that Monokuma does. The damn bear is enjoying himself far too much for anyone's comfort.

"Y-Yeah…" Naegi solemnly nods.

Only the Super High School Level Good Luck would be as _fortunate_ to name the only two recently deceased students. No one was at all surprised to see Monokuma burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. The irony was far too delicious for him to ignore.

"Well, there is one way we can find out." Kuwata Leon crossed his arms. He looked left and right at his classmates. "We can check if Naegi really is a girl."

Fujisaki Chihiro looks visibly ill as she tightly grasps at the hem of her shirt. Her stomach churns unpleasantly as she looks around at her classmates. She has no idea whether or not to feel relief in noticing that she is not the only one to find discomfort with Kuwata's words. What she does know, is that she does not like the gleam she saw in Yamada Hifumi's eyes.

"Check…?" Naegi does not comprehend the implication behind Kuwata's statement, unlike others, such as Kirigiri, who gives Kuwata a harsh glare.

"Wh-What?!" Kuwata doesn't understand why Kirigiri is looking at him like that. "I mean, how else are we going to know?"

Kirigiri finds _many_ things wrong with what Kuwata had just said, though she says nothing, because Yamada speaks before she has a chance to say anything at all.

"Yes, the only way to confirm a reverse-trap is to check for _them_." Yamada's glasses shine eerily in the light.

"Them…?" Naegi's reaction is similar as before, but it doesn't take them too long to realize the context of Yamada's statement, to which they are now able to understand the implication behind Kuwata's words. Their face turns a brilliant shade of red as they cover their chest and loudly exclaim, "Eh…?!"

"That is highly inappropriate!" Ishimaru recovers from his shock in response to the current turn of events. As the Super High School Level Moral Compass, it is his duty to prevent such inappropriate situations. "I cannot allow this sort of behavior— _especially_ at the offhand chance that Naegi-kun is indeed a girl!"

Not that Ishimaru doesn't believe Naegi isn't a girl—because Naegi said so _her_ self and it was his job to respect that. _Her_ reaction to Yamada's suggestion only managed to cast away what little doubts Ishimaru had.

"Boy or girl, I don't think anyone deserves to be treated that way!" In any other situation, Fujisaki would have hesitated to even voice her own opinion. But with how uncomfortable the situation has gotten for Naegi, Fujisaki finds herself feeling surprisingly protective and musters up enough courage to speak up. "There has to be another way!"

Fujisaki balls her hands into tight fists. Her body trembles under everyone's gaze now that she's gotten everyone's attention with her outburst. Her heart is beating so fast within her chest, but she stands her ground.

"Yeah!" Asahina Aoi purposely brings everyone's attention back on herself, for Fujisaki's sake and because she agrees with the programmer. Even if Naegi did happen to be a boy, she still didn't think it was right for anyone to gang up on Naegi like that. "And how come Sakura-chan got a pass when she corrected Ishimaru-kun and not Naegi-kun?"

…

…

"Well?" Oogami was waiting for an answer herself, but nothing was said. All she got were a few uncomfortable stares, and a couple of awkward coughs.

For some people, they had already known about Oogami due to what they have heard, such as in the case with Naegi, who looked up information on everyone prior to entering Hopes Peak Academy. To others, they took Oogami's words to heart without question, such as Ishimaru, who still felt embarrassed about misgendering Oogami. And then there were those who were too afraid to pry any further and reveal their doubting thoughts for fear of Oogami maiming them. Sometimes, the title of Super High School Level Martial Artist that Oogami had made for herself was convincing enough for others not to doubt her.

Naegi, despite holding the title of Super High School Level Good Luck, was not as fortunate as Oogami to hold such an acknowledged title, having been picked to attend Hopes Peak Academy in the first place via luck of the draw. Nobody knew who Naegi was, save for Maizono Sayaka and even before her untimely death, she had only known Naegi very briefly due to one very notable moment in middle school. It was because of reasons such as this that Naegi was starting to grow to hate the title of Good Luck (Bad Luck?). Naegi even recalled the zany misadventures that had occurred on the day the letter from Hopes Peak Academy arrived…all because Naegi decided to take a separate route home from school.

" _I'm starting to think that was an omen…"_ Naegi sure thought it was at this point.

"Tch…" Togami Byakuya clicks his tongue in annoyance. The current debate over Naegi's gender, while initially amusing, was starting to grate on his nerves with how the class trial had come to a complete halt. He decides that now would be a good time as any to put an end to said debate. And he does so by asking Monokuma a question that _needed_ to be asked. "Oi, bear…is Naegi telling the truth or not?"

Not that Togami needs to know—because he _knows_. He knows because it's painfully _obvious_ if one were to look over Naegi through a different perspective. He won't deny that he's made an assumption about Naegi based on first impressions. He is aware of his mistake and makes a mental note to avoid making the same mistake ever again.

"Upupupu, looks like the fun's about to end!" Monokuma laughs into his paws. "Such a shame, too—I was really getting a kick out of this predicament you guys have made for Naegi-kun!"

"Just answer the fucking question!" Oowada Mondo shouts, having had enough of this fiasco. His face is red with rage as he holds up a fist. He knows he can't do anything to Monokuma, which only angers him even more. Alongside anger, he also feels discomfort bubbling in his stomach as his eyes look away for a moment at the bruise on Naegi's cheek.

Hagakure Yasuhiro is the only person in the entire room at this point whom had yet to say anything following Naegi's gender revelation. The reason for his silence is because he had no idea what to say—and he still doesn't. He is at a loss since the focus had completely shifted from discovering the true culprit who murdered Maizono Sayaka to whether or not Naegi was telling the truth.

Speaking of which, now that Togami had taken the initiative to ask a question that needed to be asked, all eyes were now on Monokuma as he continued to laugh and laugh.

"Upupu—very well, I'll tell." Monokuma turns his attention to Naegi, who fidgets uncomfortably under his gaze. "But only because poor Naegi-kun's dignity is on the line! Naegi-kun's classmates can be so cruel~! Of course, it _is_ hard to believe that someone so _average_ -looking as Super High School Level Good Luck could be a girl."

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Naegi's face. "Hmm…"

Monokuma snickers, taking immense pleasure in Naegi's annoyance. "But I assure you that Naegi-kun is in fact a girl…so don't bother checking for _them_. They don't even exist."

"How did you know that?!" Naegi exclaims, realizing all too late that her outburst did nothing but confirm Monokuma's words. "I mean… _h-hey_!"

Monokuma laughs hysterically. He chose his words carefully, but he never expected Naegi to walk right into that one. "Upupupupu!"

Naegi struggles to defend herself, but she realizes that there's nothing she can do. Instead, she decides to recover what little dignity she has left, now that everyone is aware that she's a girl. It still doesn't make her feel any better now that all eyes are focused on her again. She inhales deeply and slowly, she exhales.

Today is just a bad, bad day…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7-18-16 So like, it's been a while, but like…first off, I haven't given up on this fic. Second of all, I want to clear up any unfortunate implications in this first chapter. When it comes to the statement "checking for them", it is referring to breasts (not genitals, which has absolutely no say in determining gender, because gender and sex are not interchangeable terms), which Naegi does not have (well, she does, but like…she's flat as a board). That's it. The joke is that it's coming from Yamada, who makes a lot of references to video games, anime, and manga (so it isn't out of place for him to say stuff like this, as gross as it can be at times).
> 
> It's mostly a reference to a usual reoccurring trend in anime and manga when it comes to characters who are mistaken for male or passing off as male for whatever the situation happens to be for them. Naegi just happens to be someone who fits a certain trope that I feel Yamada would recognize.
> 
> Meanwhile with Kuwata, who is the one who asked the question first and like…with him, the implication behind his words, coming from his mouth, is intentional—as of now, of course. Unlike the previous version of this chapter, you now have Kirigiri showing visible disapproval of this belief. Anyways, just going through these chapters to clean things up—maybe add in some more things. So carry on!
> 
> Shall I begin the explanation for this fic? First off, I got into Dangan Ronpa just two weeks or so before the localization of the game was released, so that is pretty late for me. I also watched the anime adaptation after finishing the LP of the first game and I am currently following the LP of Super Dangan Ronpa 2, which is also getting a localization that's scheduled to come out later this year. Now what does this have to do with anything? Everything.
> 
> Now originally, I had a long A/N typed out for this chapter, but I decided to separate it and post it in sections based on significance. The reason I even had a long A/N typed out in the first place is because I need to give out information for people to keep in consideration. The fandom of this series consists of fans who played the fantranslation of the game, fans who followed the LP translation of the game, and ever since the release of the localization of the game…there are now fans who have played the localization and most likely listened to the English dub cast. And then there's the part of the fanbase who watched the anime and then played the localization, but I digress. The point I'm trying to make is that I better not see any hostility towards any specific side of the fandom when it pertains to this…especially if it concerns the localization. Speaking of which, I have some things to say because I like pointing out differences, such as Monokuma's laughter differing between dubs, but I'll save that for later.
> 
> ALSO, NO SPOILERS…AT ALL…Normally, I wouldn't say stuff like this, but Dangan Ronpa has many twists and turns to the point that even the smallest of details could become a crucial plot point within the game (I'm not even joking about that). And, on a more personal note, I'd rather avoid talking about a certain issue until the time comes for me to talk about it. Let me just say…that issue shows the ugly side of the Dangan Ronpa fandom. That is all.
> 
> Now I'll talk about fem!Naegi some other time since there is a LOT I want to say about her. For now, I just hope you enjoyed this chapter. I certainly did, despite the difficulty I had starting this fic. Now here's the thing about this fic. I started this fic in the first place due to support, so in order to stay consistent with that, I'll only continue updating this fic if you show your support via review. So if you want to see more updates, review. I need to know if I should put in some time for this story…otherwise, I'll be sticking to Façade, my Persona 4 fem!Yu fic…
> 
> Now I usually rather not talk about pairings, especially since it's too early to do so…BUT for this fic, I'll make an exception. I have plans for Naegami…and then some. Hope that keeps you guys happy! And remember, just because I have a pairing already set…doesn't mean I won't keep myself from giving out hints of OTHER pairings. I'm a multishipper who supports polyamory…make what you will of that. So until next time guys!


	2. Despair

With the truth finally revealed and Naegi confirmed as a female student, the weight of it started to sink in… Of course, by now, the shock of it had died down for mostly everyone…mostly.

“I punched a chick?!” Memories of what had occurred on the first day started to flood Oowada’s mind. Considering what he told Naegi earlier during the investigation in her room, which was about his thoughts concerning men who harmed women (at which Naegi said nothing for various reasons, most of which concern Oowada and Naegi being intimidated by him)…the irony was unappreciated.

Of course, for Monokuma, the irony was _definitely_ appreciated, as shown by the fact that his distinctive laughter followed after Oowada’s outburst. If Oowada hadn’t been too caught up with the fact that he punched a girl (the dark bruise on Naegi’s left cheek only made that fact worse), he would have yelled at Monokuma for laughing at him.

Yamada was a little disappointed with the manner in which Naegi’s gender revelation had been confirmed. Despite this, Yamada was still rather pleased that there was a confirmation in the first place…Maybe a bit _too_ pleased for anyone’s comfort. “Reverse-trap confirmed! Not bad, not bad!”

Naegi took a few steps to her left with the intention of distancing herself from Yamada. She also briefly contemplated on pulling her hood over her head, but decided not to as Monokuma would most likely make a huge deal out of it. The last thing she needed now was more attention from Monokuma…

“If you actually look closely, the buttons on Naegi-kun’s jacket are on the left side,” Monokuma stated. “And if you’d asked, Naegi-kun would have told you she had a sewing kit. Upupupu…”

“So what does that mean?” Kuwata asked, not really understanding the significance of the situation. “Naegi is a girl, but is that really important?”

…

…

“Actually, it is,” Kirigiri replied. “And Monokuma just mentioned quite an interesting fact that relates to this. Though, I think it is best we return to our previous discussion concerning Naegi-kun’s bathroom door now that we know the reason why she said her door should have had a lock. So why didn’t it have a lock?”

“And why couldn’t it open?” Fujisaki asked.

Naegi blinked and nodded. “That’s because the door gets stuck.”

Kuwata made a face. “Huh? What are you talking about?”

“My bathroom door doesn’t fit in the frame quite right,” Naegi explained. “Monokuma over there can testify to that.”

Monokuma laughed as all attention was now on him. “Yes, it’s just like she says! But for Super High-School Level Good Luck to get the door that gets stuck? And to be the only girl without a lock because of that? Upupu…! That’s not good luck at all!”

Naegi bit her lip. She really hated her title…

“As you can see, the reason the door didn’t open was just because it got stuck…” Kirigiri continued. “But the culprit didn’t know that, and assumed it was locked. So they tore apart the doorknob to get in.”

Celes accepted Kirigiri’s explanation, but there was one thing that still bothered her. “If that is the case, then why did the culprit even think the door was locked in the first place? Up until now, we have assumed Naegi-kun was male and based on that, we should have assume her door had no lock. And just now, we have recently discovered that Naegi-kun is an exception to the girls all having locks on their doors. This is new information that the culprit couldn’t have known beforehand.”

It was information that just about everyone in this room couldn’t have known…with the exception of Monokuma, of course.

“That is indeed true.” Kirigiri nodded her head. “However, barring all new information, the culprit could have easily mistaken the door for locked due to one important detail about the scene of the crime that was unknown to them…Naegi-kun should know why.”

 _“The important detail about the scene of the crime the culprit didn’t know about…”_ It took Naegi a few moments to figure out what Kirigiri meant. “The culprit most likely didn’t realize it was my room!”

This caught Yamada by surprise. “Are you saying the killer didn’t even know where he was?! That’s…inconceivable!”

“And yet, she’s absolutely right,” Kirigiri remarked.

“Whaaaaaaaat?!” Yamada was baffled.

Kirigiri placed her hand on her chin. “Well, to be more specific…the culprit didn’t know that Naegi-kun and Maizono-san had switched rooms. That’s what led to the misunderstanding about the bathroom. If Maizono-san had been in her room…”

Ishimaru’s eyes widened. “Then there would have been a lock on the door, and they would’ve had to break through…!”

Oogami crossed her arms. “So they had no idea how unnecessary their actions were…”

Kirigiri nodded her head. “Ultimately, we can’t know if it came open by force or simply by accident, but…The culprit must have been considerably confused, with no idea how they actually got the door opened.”

“Regardless, it was a pointless act,” Togami huffed. “Wasting time trying to break down a door that wasn’t locked is…”

“…definitely something I wouldn’t do, since I would’ve known exactly why it wasn’t opening,” Naegi finished for Togami as she looked directly at him. “Right?”

Togami diverted his eyes to the side and sighed in annoyance. “That is…a definite possibility.”

“So the culprit is someone who didn’t know the rooms were exchanged…?” Fujisaki mused.

Fukawa chewed on her thumb. “Then Naegi-kun _c-couldn’t_ have done it…!”

 _“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you…”_ Naegi was almost overwhelmed from relief.

Oowada scowled. “In that case, who the fuck is the culprit?!”

“I’m sorry, but I give up!” Yamada exclaimed in a deep voice. “Quit without saving!”

Fujisaki fidgeted nervously. “What’ll happen…if we don’t figure out who the killer is?”

Ishimaru crossed his arms. “Well then, why don’t we just vote right now? Majority rules!”

“Majority rules?” Kuwata looked nervously at Ishimaru. “Do you really think that’s a good idea…?”

Hagakure nodded as small beads of sweat rolled down his forehead from anxiety. “Yeah, isn’t that situation quite dangerous…? Realistically speaking, someone really needs to do something about this…”

Celes decided to take that initiative. “Does no one have any other thoughts or questions? It does not matter how trivial they may seem…”

Asahina lit up. “Ah! I have a question!”

Celes’s expression dimmed. “Oh…you…”

Asahina scowled. “Why do you sound so disappointed?!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, just ask your question, Asahina-kun!” Ishimaru was quick to say.

“Oh yeah!” Asahina sighed. “Okay, so, umm…Well, I was just wondering, how’d the culprit get into Naegi-kun’s room in the first place?”

Oogami nodded. “Hmm…Yes, how _did_ the culprit get inside?”

“Maybe Maizono just dropped the key somewhere and the culprit picked it up.” Kuwata scratched his head. “That’s possible, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Ishimaru replied. “That seems way too convenient.”

“Then…maybe someone picked the lock?” Fujisaki suggested.

“Negative!” Ishimaru exclaimed. “If you remember, Monokuma made it quite clear that the locks are all unpickable.”

“Fine, how about this?” Yamada adjusted his glasses. “The culprit was let in by Maizono-san herself!”

Naegi shook her head. “No, that can’t be it either.”

“O-ho!” Yamada laughed. “Trying to argue against me? Sounds like someone doesn’t know their place! So let’s hear it! What’s the reason you’re so sure of that?!”

Naegi frowned. “That’s because Maizono-san was afraid, remember? That’s why she asked me to switch rooms in the first place.”

“Why didn’t you just stay together in the same room like I did with Sakura-chan?” Asahina asked. “You’re both girls and if Maizono-san was scared, why did you leave her all alone in your room?”

Naegi was about to say something but stopped. “I…don’t know…I didn’t really think too much about it.”

“Hmph, and look what good that did,” Togami remarked.

“Your comment was unneeded.” Naegi scowled at Togami. “That aside, I just can’t believe Maizono-san would do that. She told me she wouldn’t open the door for anyone, even if it was me.”

“What if that was all a lie?” Kirigiri suggested.

“Eh?” This caught Naegi completely off guard. Almost immediately, Naegi became defensive. “W-What are you saying?! Why would she tell a lie like that?!”

“I know you don’t want to consider it, but look at this and tell me…can you still deny the possibility?” Kirigiri pulled out a note from her jacket’s pocket and held it out for Naegi to see. There was writing on the note that read:

_I want to speak with you alone._

_Please come to my room in five minutes._

_Be sure to check the nameplate so you don’t get the wrong room._

“I found a notepad during my search, and I shaded in the top sheet with a pencil,” Kirigiri explained. “And these are the words that appeared.”

“Ah! I’ve seen this on TV!” Asahina was absolutely giddy. “When you write, it can leave an imprint. Sketch over the next sheet of paper, and you can see the words! When I saw that, I was like, ‘Holy crap! I better make sure I rip the paper out before I use it from now on!”

A small smile formed on Kirigiri’s lips. “It’s a pretty old-fashioned technique, but even the classics can be surprisingly useful sometimes. By the way, I found the notepad on top of the desk in Naegi-kun’s room.”

Naegi blinked. “Huh?”

“That means only someone who had been in Naegi-kun’s room before the incident could have written it,” Kirigiri explained.

“Then it was either Naegi, who lived there, or Maizono, who switched rooms for a single night…” Togami stated.

Kirigiri focused her gaze on Naegi. “Naegi-kun…did you write this?”

Naegi looked at the note and shook her head. “N-No, I didn’t…”

Kirigiri nodded. “I thought so…Besides, the note appears to have been signed by Maizono.”

“Why would she write this?” Naegi couldn’t believe it.

“She probably used that note to invite someone to her room,” Kirigiri inferred.

“An invitation from the Super High-School Level Idol?” Yamada practically drooled at the thought. “No guy could possibly resist that—Of course, I’m only into 2D so it wouldn’t have any effect on me!”

“Wait a minute.” Celes had a question to ask. “That note, signed by Maizono-san, said, ‘Please come to my room,’ right?”

“Wouldn’t they have gone to her actual room instead?” Fujisaki asked. “The one Naegi-kun was in.”

“No,” Kirigiri said firmly. “The culprit would have definitely gone to Naegi-kun’s room.”

“Oh?” Celes was perplexed. “And why’s that?”

“The residents weren’t the only thing that was swapped between the rooms,” Kirigiri replied. “The nameplates were too. Someone relying solely on the handbook would have entered the wrong room.”

“So whoever received the note…” Fujisaki began.

“…wouldn’t have mixed up the rooms,” Togami finished for Fujisaki. “They would’ve gone straight to where Maizono Sayaka was—Naegi’s room.”

“But who would have swapped the nameplates?” Kirigiri questioned before diverting her eyes on Naegi. “It wasn’t you, was it, Naegi-kun?”

“N-No…” Naegi replied nervously.

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Kuwata’s face. “Wh-Who was it, then?”

“There’s only one person who could’ve switched the nameplates.” Naegi felt an unpleasant sensation building up in the pit of her stomach. She knew who it was who changed the nameplate…but she just couldn’t believe it. She hesitated to speak up at first until the truth had finally sunk in. “The only other person who knew about the room swap…was Maizono-san.”

“You can also infer as much from her note…” Kirigiri held up the note again.

_I want to speak with you alone._

_Please come to my room in five minutes._

_Be sure to check the nameplate so you don’t get the wrong room._

“She specifically tells the reader to check the nameplate.” Kirigiri emphasized that detail. “She would only have written that if she knew the nameplates had been switched.”

“But why would she switch them in the first place?” Fujisaki asked.

“And along with that, why would she invite someone after switching rooms?” Asahina had been wondering about that since Naegi revealed that Maizono was the only person capable of switching the nameplates.

“Hmph.” Togami couldn’t believe that everyone had overlooked what, to him, was the obvious. Of course, it had taken him some time to figure it out, but he eventually reached a conclusion. “Maizono was most likely plotting a murder. She was going to switch the nameplates back after the murder, which would put the blame on Naegi.”

Naegi’s eyes widened. “That can’t be—”

“’True’?” Togami cut Naegi off. “Can you really say that?”

“…” Naegi bit her lip. She had no idea what to say.

Togami crossed his arms. “Take a look at all the evidence we have. Maizono’s plan failed because she allowed the idiot she lured to fight back.”

“He got the first strike in with the fake sword!” Hagakure suddenly exclaimed.

“No, he was defending himself,” Kirigiri was quick to disprove Hagakure.

Togami turned his head toward Kirigiri. “That explains the marks on the sheath. If things had gone according to her plan, then Maizono would be standing there with an innocent look on her face.”

Naegi still couldn’t believe it. “But why would Maizono-san…”

“It’s simple,” Celes replied. “She wanted to get out of here.”

“But she had the tables turned on her and got killed.” Togami wasn’t too shy to remind everyone of that. “What a fool.”

Naegi glared at Togami. “How could you say th—”

“Well, am I wrong?” Togami looked sternly at Naegi, somewhat amused with her reaction. “That’s how this game works.”

Naegi clenched her teeth. “But—”

“Calm down,” Kirigiri said firmly. “This is no time for quarrels.”

Togami closed his eyes and huffed upon noticing the stern look Kirigiri was giving him specifically. “Hmph.”

“Indeed.” Celes looked at Togami in disapproval. “We still haven’t figured out who the culprit is.”

“Who it is among us, you mean,” Togami remarked.

“Th-That’s right!” Hagakure was anxious. “We still need to convict someone!”

Fukawa was on the verge of a nervous breakdown at this point. “We’re done for! This is going to be the end of us!”

Naegi bit her lip. _“Come on, think! It’s all over if we don’t identify the culprit. There’s got to be something we’re overlooking…”_

“Y’know, how are we supposed to find someone guilty?” Kuwata sighed before scratching his head. “We’re out of new clues.”

At that moment, something clicked within Naegi as she quickly pondered over Kuwata’s words. Something was off and she knew why. “You’ve got that wrong!”

This caught Kuwata off guard. “Wh-What?”

“There are still clues left,” Naegi explained. “The dying message Maizono-san left.”

“Dining—wait, what did you say?” Kuwata made a face.

“Dying message,” Kirigiri coolly replied as she looked at Kuwata. “Didn’t you see what was on the wall behind Maizono-san?”

Upon checking the evidence within his e-handbook, Kuwata gasped. “Oh! The heck was that?!”

“That 11037 thing?” Asahina said.

“Wouldn’t that girl over there know a lot more about numbers than we do?” Oowada turned his attention to Fujisaki. “You’re a Super High-School Level Programmer, aren’t you?”

Fujisaki frowned. “Well, I actually don’t have a clue. I can’t make any sense out of that code.”

 _“Maizono-san ran into the bathroom, but the door was forced open, and she was killed using the knife that was taken from her.”_ Naegi went over the events in her head, trying to figure out if there was anything worth mentioning. A few moments had passed before she finally exclaimed, “Wait, I got it!”

All attention was now on Naegi.

“The writing on the wall…” Naegi began, pausing only for a moment to let out a shaky breath in an attempt to ease her tension. She was terrified, but she couldn’t give up now after everything. “…it’s the culprit’s _name_!”

“Eh?!” Now this caught everyone, save for Kirigiri, Celes, and Togami (as well as Monokuma), by surprise.

Naegi placed both her hands on the railing and released yet another shaky breath. “If you rotate the dying message 180 degrees, you get…’Leon.’ Isn’t that…your name, Kuwata Leon-kun?”

Kuwata’s breath hitched as he looked nervously at Naegi. Naegi wasn’t looking so good either, being just as nervous as Kuwata, but for different reasons. She tried her best to keep her composure, even though she was already trembling.

“Kuwata…Leon,” Oogami repeated, earning Kuwata’s immediate attention.

“H-Hold on!” Kuwata exclaimed, already beginning to lose his composure. “You’re just distortin’ the truth here!”

Kirigiri remained unfazed by Kuwata’s sudden change in behavior. “She most likely wrote the message with her back to the wall.”

“Since she wrote it that way, it’d be rotated 180 degrees if you looked at it from the front,” Naegi explained.

“What the hell?” Kuwata growled. “You really think _I_ did it? Give me a goddamn break!”

“If you’re not the culprit, then why did you destroy the evidence?” Kirigiri’s question hit Kuwata hard.

…

“What do you mean?” Ishimaru was perplexed.

Naegi thought for a moment. “You mean the burnt shirt and the glass sphere fragments near the incinerator, right?”

“Oh, I remember seeing those!” Yamada exclaimed.

Hagakure blinked. “Come to think of it, I couldn’t find my crystal ball anywhere. P-Please don’t tell me that’s what happened to it.”

Before Naegi could say anything, Kirigiri spoke. “Naegi-kun. Looks like you’re starting to figure out the answer to this mystery.”

Naegi closed her eyes and let out one last shaky breath. Then she opened her eyes, her expression looking much more confident than ever as she knew the answer. “This is the whole story behind the case.”

Everyone, even Kuwata, went silent to allow Naegi to speak up.

“The culprit panicked and tried to destroy the evidence after killing Maizono-san, but since he couldn’t get near the incinerator, he decided to use Hagakure-kun’s crystal ball.” Naegi’s voice was clear, her tone firm. “The mere idea of it would’ve been unthinkable to any normal person, but the culprit was certain he could pull it off…Because he was the Super High-School Level Baseball Player. Satisfied that he’d destroyed whatever evidence there was, he immediately left the trash room. He didn’t realize one thing, though. A piece of the white shirt he’d thrown burned off and fell to the ground. He had no idea that it’d be conclusive evidence against him. Isn’t that right, Kuwata Leon-kun?”

Kuwata clenched his teeth as Naegi looked sternly at him. He was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say after all that.

“Well, Kuwata-kun?” Kirigiri looked fixedly at Kuwata. “Do you object to anything that’s been said?”

“Do I object?” Kuwata repeated, his eyes wide and fist clenched. “Hell yes I object! Of course I do! I object! I object! I object! I mean, all of this is just a bunch of stupid theories! You need evidence! Where’s the evidence?!”

Kuwata’s loud voice echoed throughout the room. No one said anything or rather; no one wanted to say anything. By the manner in which Kuwata had reacted, it was obvious that he was in fact the culprit…but Kuwata refused to accept it.

“Without evidence, it’s all bullshit!” Kuwata seethed. “It’s bullshit and I refuse to acknowledge it!”

“Well then, I guess this is as good a time as any to present the evidence that proves you did it.” Kirigiri diverted her eyes on Naegi. “Naegi-kun…I believe you’re in possession of that evidence?”

Naegi blinked. “I…have that kind of evidence…?”

“When the culprit removed the screws from the doorknob, they didn’t use anything from your room to do it,” Kirigiri explained. “In fact, they couldn’t have. So really, their only option must have been to use something that belonged to them—something which you do not have. Now what exactly was it that they used to remove the screws?”

 _“They used something of their own to remove the screws…”_ Naegi pondered. _“Something that I don’t have…Could it have been…?”_

“I refuse to acknowledge you!” Kuwata yelled. “You’re stupid! Stupid stupid stupid! Stupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupid!!!”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “But the only one who could’ve hit the incinerator switch with a crystal ball was you, the Super High-School Level Baseball player!”

“Stupid stupid stupid!” Kuwata slammed his hands on the railing. “I’m not gonna stand for this! Besides, Yamada-kun was the one on duty! He could’ve easily entered the room!”

“But Yamada-kun wouldn’t have needed to throw the crystal ball from outside!” Naegi remarked.

“Stupid stupid stupid!” Kuwata continued insulting Naegi. “You’re saying I threw the crystal ball and destroyed all the evidence, but isn’t that just guesswork based on circumstantial evidence?!”

Naegi grimaced. “Perhaps, but there’s other stuff that proves you did it.”

“Shut up already!” Kuwata snapped.

“The doorknob to the bathroom had its screws taken out—” Naegi tried to bring up what Kirigiri had mentioned a few moments ago, but she was immediately interrupted by Kuwata.

“Who the hell cares?!” Kuwata screeched.

Naegi, despite being intimidated by how Kuwata was treating her, somehow managed to keep her composure. “What did the culprit use to take those screws out?”

“Your theory’s completely off the mark, you nincompoop shithead!” Kuwata scowled at Naegi.

“If my theory is correct, then the screwdriver in that toolkit won’t be brand new.” Naegi recalled hearing from Oowada that none of the guys had opened or used their toolkits yet.

“Without evidence, it’s all bullshit!” Kuwata retorted. “It’s bullshit and I refuse to acknowledge it!”

 _“This will prove it once and for all.”_ Naegi knew what to do or rather…knew what to ask. “Kuwata-kun…could you show us your toolkit?”

“Stupidstupidstu…uh, huh?” Kuwata trailed off.

“I mean, how else could the culprit remove the screws from my bathroom doorknob?” Naegi questioned. “Just what kind of tool could be used to remove screws?”

…

“It had to be a screwdriver, right?” Oowada replied after a miniscule moment of silence.

Hagakure placed his hand on his chin in thought. “Oh yeah…I’m pretty sure the toolkits we got each had one inside.”

“Then that must be what he used!” Yamada nodded as he adjusted his glasses. “There aren’t any other tools anywhere.”

“Only the boys go the toolkits, so—wait a minute!” Fujisaki realized something. “Naegi-kun doesn’t have a toolkit!”

Ishimaru gasped. “You’re right!”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t use that information earlier when she was the prime suspect to Maizono’s murder. “That’s because I have a sewing kit!”

Monokuma had been silent up until this point where he couldn’t help but laugh. “Upupupu…didn’t I say earlier that if you had asked, Naegi-kun would have told you she had a sewing kit?”

Oowada clenched his teeth. “How could we let that one pass by us?!”

“Naegi-kun, I’m so sorry!” Asahina looked apologetically at Naegi. “I didn’t mean for that to happen to you! I should have remembered that fact!”

“I, too, apologize for not thinking that there was any significance to Monokuma’s words…” Oogami lowered her head.

Celes closed her eyes and sighed. “It seems that we all owe Naegi-kun an apology.”

“I’m more surprised that she waited until now to mention that again,” Togami huffed. “How long has it been since Monokuma first mentioned that Naegi had a sewing kit?”

“Togami-kun, would you please refrain from picking on Naegi-kun?” Kirigiri looked coldly at Togami. “If you want someone to blame, then blame me for pushing that information aside. However…you’re just as much to fault as I am, seeing as you knew about it as well and yet, you stayed quiet.”

Togami narrowed his eyes at Kirigiri, but said nothing. The Super High-School Level Heir had decided not to dignify Kirigiri’s remark with a response.

“Anyways, we are getting off topic,” Kirigiri remarked. “Naegi-kun, if you may?”

Naegi nodded. “As everyone already knows by now, I don’t have a toolkit…so then whose toolkit did the culprit use?”

Yamada decided to answer Naegi’s question. “It had to be their very own toolkit!”

Asahina nodded. “There’s no doubt about it!”

“So Kuwata-kun, I’ll ask you again…” Naegi looked Kuwata right in the eyes. “Can you show us your toolkit? If I’m right about this…then the screwdriver will show some evidence of being used!”

Kuwata said nothing, having been intimidated by Naegi to the point of silence.

Togami’s glasses gleamed in the light as he looked sternly at Kuwata. By now, he had decided this trial had gone on long enough. “If you say you used it for something else, you’ll have to explain exactly when, where, and why…”

“And let me say this right now…” Kirigiri said coldly. “’I lost it’ isn’t an excuse at this point.”

“Stu…pid.” Kuwata’s voice was beginning to crack. “Stu…pid?”

…

…

Togami closed his eyes. “It doesn’t look like he has any rebuttals.”

Celes twirled a lock of her black hair with her index finger. “Then it would seem…we are finished here.”

“Upupupu…” Monokuma laughed. “Looks like you’ve reached your verdict! Then are we ready to cast our votes? You all have a lever in front of you. Use it to make your selection! Oh, just to remind you all…Make triple sure you vote for someone! You wouldn’t want to be punished for something so minor, right?”

Monokuma almost seemed oblivious to the fact that a majority of the students were quite visibly unsettled with the fact that they had to vote…except he wasn’t. The fact that some students were visibly unsettled only made Monokuma giddy with excitement for the events that were just minutes away from occurring.

“Okay!” Monokuma happily exclaimed. “Then let’s get excited! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one? What’s it gonna be? What’s it gonna beeee?!”

…

…

“Bingo! That’s right!” A pink blush tinged Monokuma’s cheeks as he gave everyone a thumbs-up. “Maizono Sayaka-san was killed by Kuwata Leon-kun!”

Kuwata paled. “Excuse me?”

Kuwata was met with many looks of disapproval.

“Urk…” Naegi felt sick.

Asahina covered her mouth. “Kuwata…”

“You piece of shit!” Oowada yelled. “Why the hell did you do that?!”

“You really think I had a choice?” Kuwata’s body began to shake. “It was kill or be killed! S-So that’s why…I killed her first. None of you are any different! One wrong step, and you’d be the one standing here!”

Kuwata collapsed onto his knees as he began to cry loudly. Kuwata’s bawling only made Naegi feel even worse, having been the one to identify Kuwata as the blackened. It was because of her that Kuwata had broken down. Of course, what other choice did she really have?

 _“I don’t know what to think of this…”_ Naegi just realized she was basically repeating what Kuwata said. It didn’t help that she was still distraught over the fact that Maizono had tried to frame her. It just made her think over the way Maizono had treated her. _“She used me…is that why she talked to me in the first place?”_

Naegi will never know…because Maizono was dead.

“Upupupu…” Monokuma’s distinctive laughter snapped Naegi out of her thoughts. “The entertainment industry must sure be terrifying, huh?! I mean, to try and kill someone just because of those relationships! She seemed so nice and lovely on the outside, but inside…she’d descended into pure madness!”

“Wh…what did you say?” Naegi’s voice nearly cracked.

Monokuma exhaled in relief. “I understand, really I do. Yup yup! You’re in utter despair thanks to Maizono-san’s betrayal, right? Compassion, intimacy, love…The stronger those feelings, the stronger the despair when they collapse!”

Naegi couldn’t believe what she was hearing… “Cut the crap! It’s all your fault! What Maizono-san…did…Everything, everything… _everything_ , **everything** … **It’s all your goddamn fault**!”

Suddenly, in a frenzy, Naegi lunged at Monokuma. Though, before she could get any closer, a hand grabbed her arm tightly and stopped her.

“That’s enough.” Kirigiri looked sternly at Naegi. Her grip was like iron, strong enough that Naegi was sure that it would leave a bruise. “If you really want to make her enemies pay for what they’ve done, you need to let it go for now.”

Naegi clenched her teeth, still very much enraged at Monokuma for what he said and frustrated at being unable to do anything at the current moment. “Damn it!”

“Ahh, that was a close one!”  Monokuma exclaimed. “I thought for sure you were gonna give me a good walloping! Just barely avoided punishment, you did! Now then! Since you so magnificently revealed the identity of the killer during the class trial…the blackened, Kuwata Leon-kun, will receive his punishment!”

“P-Punishment?” Kuwata ceased his crying as he stood up. “You mean…e-execution? W-Wait a second! I didn’t have a choice! I HAD to kill her! Y-Yeah, that’s it! I was just protecting myself in the heat of the moment! It was self-defense!”

“How, exactly, was it self-defense?” Celes stared coldly at Kuwata. “When you forced your way into the bathroom, did you or did you not use your very own toolkit? After she’d shut herself in the bathroom, you went out of your way to head back to your own room…Then you came all the way back, broke into the bathroom, and killed her. Am I wrong? You had any number of chances to stop what you were doing. But you chose not to. Is it not because you had an unclouded intent to commit murder?”

“N-No!” Kuwata exclaimed. “That’s not…!”

“Stop it…” Naegi covered her ears. “I’ve had enough of this…”

“Oh!” Celes covered her mouth in shock. “Are you sure? You were closer to her than anyone, were you not? He killed your precious Maizono-san. Do you understand?”

“I can’t say Kuwata-kun is solely to blame…” Naegi let out a shaky breath. “Of course, I don’t plan on blaming Maizono-san, either. Because…it’s all _his_ fault!”

Monokuma tilted his head to the side. “Oho?”

“If it weren’t for you…” Naegi clenched her teeth. “This would have never happened to Maizono-san, OR Kuwata-kun! We shouldn’t be fighting each other…We should be fighting against the one who put us in this situation! The mastermind!”

“Uh-oh!” Monokuma covered his mouth. “Did you awaken to your sense of justice?! Well, it just so happens that there’s nothing more unethical than an unwavering sense of justice. After all, it’s people with that sort of mentality that perpetuate war all over the world. Is that the kind of justice that’s awakened within you?!”

“Just…shut up!” Naegi snapped.

“Okay, well, anyway—more importantly~!” Monokuma laughed as he turned his attention to Kuwata. “Let’s hurry up and get to what everyone’s been waiting for! The punishment!”

“I’m begging you…!” Kuwata pleaded. “Please, don’t do this!”

“No more begging!” Monokuma’s eyes glowed red. “No more excuses! You must pay the penalty for breaking the rules! Society demands it!”

“No…” Kuwata took a step back. “No…No!”

Everyone watched Kuwata as he ran off in a desperate attempt to escape. However, his attempt was futile as there was no way out of the room.

“Let me out!” Kuwata screamed as he pounded his fists on the wall.

“Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Kuwata Leon-kun, the Super High-School Level Baseball Player!”

“No no no no no no no!” Kuwata screamed.

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got!” Monokuma gleefully exclaimed. “It’s…PUNISHMENT TIIIME~!”

“NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” Kuwata’s screams echoed throughout the room.

…

…

Monokuma had returned to his chair and pulled out a gavel as a big, red button appeared in front of him. He then used the gavel to pressed down on the button.

**GAME OVER**

**LEON KUWATA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.**

**COMMENCING EXECUTION!**

Kuwata looked around the room in anticipation. He couldn’t say anything, fear having rendered him silent by now. The last person he looked at before a cold, metal shackle closed around his neck was Naegi. Seeing her horrified reaction as a strong pull around his neck dragged him backwards only added to his despair. The shackle had been linked to a long chain that was now dragging Kuwata through a dull, prison-like hallway. Kuwata desperately clawed at the shackle the whole entire time until he pulled up against a signpost. He couldn’t breathe at first until three metallic bands appeared and snapped over his torso, thighs, and just below his knees to give him enough support so he wasn’t just being hanged by his neck.

Of course, when Kuwata realized where he was, he was absolutely baffled. He was in a batting cage. Just standing away from him from a certain distance was a pitching machine, being filled with baseballs that were ready to be pitched. Watching behind the chain-linked fence was the rest of remaining students, all of whom were forcefully brought to the batting cage to witness the horror that ensued once the pitching machine was turned on.

Monokuma stood to the side of the pitching machine. He was wearing a baseball helmet and holding a baseball bat. As soon as Monokuma had put himself in a batting stance, the first baseball shot out of the machine and hit Kuwata right in the chest. Almost immediately after, a barrage of baseballs shot out of the machine at a high velocity, all of which hit Kuwata from shoulder to toe, and all around his body, save for his head. Monokuma joined in on the execution by hitting any baseball that came his way at Kuwata.

No one had been prepared to witness Kuwata’s execution, which was referred to as “A Million Fungoes” by Monokuma. The shock of witnessing the brutal scene before them had rendered everyone still, their gaze locked on Kuwata as he was slowly beaten to death by multiple baseballs. Sickening cracks were disturbingly audible over the loud noise coming from the pitching machine. The splatter of blood began to coat the floor beneath Kuwata’s body. After so many baseballs had hit him just about everywhere from the shoulders down, Kuwata was still _alive_ , his face contorted in agonizing pain and terror.

Suddenly, the pitching machine changed its trajectory and the baseballs were shot in a new direction: Kuwata’s face. The look of absolute horror on Kuwata’s face moments prior before a barrage of baseballs hit his face burned into the memory of those who had witnessed the entire scene. A few moments passed before the pitching machine stopped shooting baseballs. The chain-linked fence slid open, allowing every access to the batting cage…and Kuwata’s battered body. Everyone stared at Kuwata’s lifeless body as it hanged by the neck from the signpost. A bloody baseball rolled its way over to the group, stopping right in front of Naegi, who had been the closest to the chain-linked fence.

What had occurred before everyone’s eyes was the true face of despair. There was really no other way to describe it. And for that reason, Monokuma was hyped.

“Woohoo!” he gleefully exclaimed. “Extreeeeeeemmmmmeeeee!! Man, my adrenaline is pumping right outta control!”

The reality of what had occurred began to sink in within each of the remaining students. Yamada was the first to vocally react.

“Uwah…! Uwaaaaaahhh!” Yamada’s screams set off a chain of reactions.

“Wh-Wh-What’s going o-on?!” Fukawa’s stutter had become noticeably worse, most likely as a result from the terror that was overwhelming her.

Fujisaki collapsed onto her knees and covered her face as she began bawling. “I-I can’t take this anymore…! I’ve had enough…!”

“Well hey, if you don’t like it…” Monokuma laughed maliciously. “All you gotta do is swear to cut off all your ties with the outside world and accept living here forever! But that’s only if every single one of you can get onboard with that. Upupupup…Hyaa hyaa haa hyaa!”

Oowada clenched his teeth as he glared at Monokuma. “Man, fuck you…Why the fuck are you doing all this evil shit to us?!”

“Evil?!” Monokuma’s eyes glowed red. “You make it sound like I’m some member of a dark, awful, secret society! Though, in my case, I’m probably a memBEAR!”

“Urk…URGHHHH!”

Monokuma turned his attention and sighed. “Now now, Naegi-kun…I wasn’t THAT horrible!”

“Naegi-kun!!” Asahina and Oogami were quick to run to Naegi’s side, just mere seconds after she had finished emptying the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she retched again.

Monokuma sighed. “You sure are making my job harder when I clean up.”

Seeing how Monokuma treated Naegi infuriated Oowada even more than he already was. “You piece of shit! I don’t know who you are but I’m gonna pound your ass into the ground!”

“Upupupu…” Monokuma laughed. “You must really hate me to get so angry, huh? Or are you trying to make amends for what you did to poor Naegi-kun on the first day?”

“Fuck you!” Oowada spat.

Monokuma laughed. “Whatever the case is, you’re barking waaay up the wrong tree. What happened, happened because more than one of you decided you wanted to get out, right? No matter how much time passes, you can’t cut free of your regrets from the outside world. You’re to blame!”

“Of course we can’t cut f-free of the outside world!” Fukawa insisted. “Being trapped in this insane p-place…!”

“Hmmm…You’re trapped, are you?” Monokuma questioned. “Well, I’m sure once you learn all the mysteries of this school, your thinking will change for sure. You’ll think, ‘Boy, isn’t it so wonderful how we all get to live here forever?!’”

“What are you trying to say…?” Ishimaru was perplexed.

“I feel like there’s some deeper meaning hidden in there…” Kirigiri remarked. “Just like before…When you say ‘everyone’…who exactly are you referring to?”

“Upupu…” Monokuma covered his mouth. “Sorry, I said everything I’ve got to say! I need to save some of the fun for later! Hyaa hyaa hyaa...!!”

And just like that, Monokuma disappeared, leaving the remaining students feeling as if they were beaten to a pulp by a nightmarish reality. Even after he had left, everyone remained within the room, unable to move. Everyone was just too scared…too scared of being alone. Everyone, save for Togami, Celes, Kirigiri, Oowada, and Oogami, had started crying not long after Monokuma left. Whether it was from relief at narrowly avoiding death, had they not correctly identified Kuwata as the culprit, or the guilt at living at the expense of one’s life or just the complete horror of witnessing Kuwata’s execution, Naegi, by far, had it worse from everyone else. Since this morning, Naegi had been experiencing one unfortunate event after another.

From finding Sayaka Maizono’s bloody corpse in her bathroom to witnessing the death of Junko Enoshima in the gymnasium, to finding out that she was used by the aforementioned Super High-School Level Idol who had the intent of framing a murder on her. To then identifying the killer as Kuwata, who was then executed in such a brutal manner before everyone’s eyes…Naegi had no idea what to think anymore, especially since she was known as Super High-School Level _Good Luck_. Being humiliated by Monokuma when he confirmed her actual sex, which everyone had mistaken due to a misconception that stemmed from poor communication skills and lack of social interaction, was _nothing_ compared to everything else. Since day one, Naegi had been experiencing nothing but BAD luck and just knowing the irony in her title just rubbed salt into her wounds.

“I wish I had never gotten that letter in the mail…” Naegi cried into her hands. “Ever since I got that letter—just, why me? Why me?! Uwaaaah…”

Naegi was amongst the group whose cries filled the nearly silent room. Everyone else stayed silent, unable to find their voices at all or make any expression. Oogami did her best to comfort Asahina as the Super High-School Level Swimmer cried into the martial artist’s chest. Ishimaru tried hard to cease his crying, but only manage to stifle the volume of his voice as he continued crying. Hagakure prayed to whichever deity that so happened to cross his mind as he desperately hoped for a miracle to get him out of this nightmarish reality. Fukawa and Yamada, despite not really getting along with each other, put their differences aside, if only for the moment, in order to comfort each other through means of holding hands. Of course, in Fukawa’s case, she was holding onto Yamada’s non-drawing hand in a death grip that wasn’t reassuring as it was supposed to be, but Yamada could care less…to him, Fukawa’s death grip at least reassured him that he wasn't alone.

“I want to go…home…” Naegi sobbed. She wanted to see her family, whom she had no idea of their whereabouts or status. The horror of not knowing was only made worse when Naegi recalled her video that Monokuma had given as an incentive to get one student to “graduate.” “Mom…Dad…Komaru-chan…Ugu…hic…”

Out of everyone who had been crying, Naegi had been the only one who was vocal about her despair. Oowada never liked it when girls cried and wanted to walk over to Naegi and try to get her to stop crying, but he just couldn’t bring himself to move. In the end, the one who had walked over to Naegi to stop her from crying was Fujisaki.

It all started with Fujisaki hugging Naegi from behind, which was then proceeded by a simple plea that consisted of Fujisaki saying, “Please don’t cry…”

And from there, Fujisaki slowly managed to stop Naegi’s crying. It was strange…one would have expected the Super High-School Level Programmer to be comforted instead of doing the comforting herself. Fujisaki herself was also confused, but knowing what Naegi had gone through within the span of a day probably had something to do with her sudden actions.

When Naegi finally stopped crying, Kirigiri walked over to her and whispered into her ear, “Naegi-kun…Do you have a second?”

“I guess…” Naegi sniffed.

Kirigiri nodded and looked at Fujisaki. “Fujisaki-san, would you mind if I borrow Naegi-kun for a minute?”

Fujisaki nodded and released Naegi from her embrace. “Sorry about hugging you so suddenly…”

“It’s okay…” Naegi said softly. “By the way, thank you…”

Fujisaki blushed and looked down as she twiddled her fingers together. “I’ll always be available if you ever need someone to talk to…”

Naegi nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

This made Fujisaki smile genuinely at Naegi. She had no idea why, but Naegi made her feel happy, which was a feeling that Fujisaki welcomed after all the horror and despair she had experienced. Not knowing what else to do, Fujisaki decided to walk away to leave Naegi and Kirigiri alone with each other.

…

…

“Before we head back…there’s something I want to talk to you about,” Kirigiri began.

Naegi bit her lip. “It’s about Maizono-san, isn’t it?”

“I’m surprised you figured it out.” Kirigiri seemed impressed. “I told you before the class trial started…You had to figure out the mystery of this case yourself. That’s why I stayed quiet about your sewing kit when the information of such was given upon your gender revelation…”

“So you wanted me to realize how Maizono-san betrayed me by myself, didn’t you?” Naegi looked down. “The thought never even crossed my mind. I feel like such a fool, becoming such an easy target like that…”

Kirigiri tucked her hair behind her ear. “Maizono-san meant to double-cross you. That’s a fact you can never change. But even till the very end, she wasn’t sure of her decision. That’s why…as she lay dying, she was thinking of you.”

“She was thinking…of me?” Naegi’s eyes widened. “You can’t just say something like that…I mean, there’s no way you can know that. Only Maizono-san would know for sure, and we can’t ask her now…”

“Even if you can’t ask her, you can infer it, don’t you think?” Kirigiri gave Naegi a small smile. “Her final thought…was how she could protect you.”

“What…?” Naegi was perplexed.

“The fact that she used her last ounce of energy to leave her dying message proves it,” Kirigiri explained. “If she didn’t care what happened to you, she never would have left that message.”

Naegi didn’t know what to think of this. “Well…maybe she just wanted to get back at the person who killed her.”

“That’s certainly one possibility.” Kirigiri nodded. “But I don’t think that’s what it was. She was…uncertain. She wasn’t sure if she could kill someone…or deceive you. Which is why her plan failed. Her hesitation attracted failure. It’s almost ironic when you think about it.”

…

“Why are you telling me all this?” Naegi asked Kirigiri.

“Because…you’re the kind of person who can overcome this,” Kirigiri replied. “Because you can move past the deaths of your friends—Maizono-san and Kuwata-kun—and keep moving forward. Without someone like that, the others would never be able to break free of such a desperate situation.”

“Move past their deaths?” Naegi questioned. “That’s…I could never do that.”

Kirigiri sighed.

…

“No…” Naegi said firmly. “I’m going to carry them with me the rest of my life. How could I possibly ‘move past’ something like that? Kuwata-kun…Maizono-san…I’ll carry them with me forever. I’ll carry their memories with me wherever I go!”

…

…

“So instead of forgetting them…you’re choosing the hard road.” Kirigiri chuckled. “Well, I have high expectations for you. By the way, I have to admit, I’m curious…How did you know I wanted to talk to you about Maizono-san?”

“Oh, well…” Naegi thought for a moment and then gave Kirigiri her biggest smile. “Because I’m an esper.”

This caught Kirigiri by surprise. “Huh…?”

Naegi laughed. “Kidding…I just have pretty good intuition.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO EVERYONE. It’s been a while and let me just say, college bitch-slapped the HELL out of me with homework. Dear god, the last quarter for the term and it’s by far my busiest. I took up jazz appreciation, psychology, and chemistry of beer and wine! Yeah, guess who’s gonna use that information for fanfiction? I am~! Also, as of a few days ago, I am now nineteen! Happy late birthday to me!  
> Anyways, aside from college, TPP (Twitch Plays Pokémon…WE’RE ON PLATINUM and thanks to me, I’m the reason everyone is calling our Roselia, Sunbrella), and me getting distracted by exams, I’m rather glad to be back writing, even though I SHOULD be working on my five paragraph essay for my chemistry class, but naaaah, let me work on this fic! Please appreciate what I’ve done…It’s like 2:50 AM as I write this and I STILL haven’t started the essay…which, did I mention, involves me doing a review on how to brew beer? That is due today at 10 AM? Yeaaah…the things I do for my readers…love ya guys! :3  
> I would also like to apologize if there were any unfortunate implications in the first chapter regarding the issue of how Naegi’s gender was discussed. And while I’m at it, let’s talk about fem!Naegi, okay? Let’s talk about male Naegi first since there’s a reason I didn’t change ANYTHING about Naegi. Naegi, in general, is the second shortest character in the cast, the first being Fujisaki. And while Asahina is actually the same height as Naegi, she still appears to be taller than he is when she stands right next to him. The difference might just be in centimeters, which, on paper, doesn’t seem like much, but it definitely shows when you apply it to real life. Naegi also refers to himself using the pronoun, “boku,” which, while masculine, can be used by both genders (standard explanation I usually get for this).  
> Naegi’s first name is Makoto, which is a name usually given to males and occasionally given to females. Despite this, Makoto is actually a unisex name. And now for my favorite part about Naegi…in the English dub of the game, Naegi is voiced by Bryce Papenbrook, but in the Japanese dub…Megumi Ogata is his voice actress.  
> Now what was the point of all that? Just me explaining that there was nothing I needed to change when I genderbended Naegi, save for the one factor that makes this fic a genderbender at all: Naegi’s sex. Fem!Naegi identifies as female and when Monokuma and Yamada were saying “them,” that was a euphemism referring to breasts, which, thanks to Monokuma, it has been establish that fem!Naegi is flat as a board (thus the humiliation and Naegi being shocked that Monokuma even knew about that). Just decided to bring explain that in case anyone was confused.  
> Anyways, I understand that this fic followed the first trial and lacked originality, but just…wait it out. It’s the first trial, I have nothing much to work with and by the way, thanks to that rather graphic description of Kuwata’s execution, this fic is now rated M. That’s the fastest any of my fics has EVER gotten the M rating. Yup. Also, there's a reason why I used the localization for when it came to how Kuwata's "Aho" was translated. Dumb-ass was a bit too wordy to type out multiple times and I feel uncomfortable using the r-word in such a manner due to the fact that I have been called that by my peers when they discovered I take medication for my ADHD...that was in the 6th grade, so that was ALL ignorance right there. But yeah...just saying, it hurts...unless I say ritardando, which means I'm talking about music and I like music. I'm a band geek...  
> Well, that’s it for now, I really gotta work on my essay. And remember, I’ll only update this fic if you show your support and leave a kudos, comment...whatever! And while this IS Naegami, be aware that I’m also a fan of any other Naegi pairings…So basically, in a sense, you’ll probably get what might as well be Naegixeveryone. The Naegami is there as the for-sure-as-hell main pairing that’ll get more focus…hopefully. Sometimes, I don’t know what’ll end up happening when I write, so watch out.  
> Welp, hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna get any sleep today due to that damn essay since I spent so much time on this fic. Until next time, guys!


	3. Trauma

It had taken Naegi nearly fifteen minutes before she could even bring herself to enter her room. The first thing she instantly noticed was sudden disappearance of the mess that had been in here earlier. What had once appeared to be the site of a struggle was now just a clean room, as it had once been prior to the murder of Sayaka Maizono. Naegi looked around closely, as if to confirm if Monokuma had in fact cleaned up the mess.

Once Naegi had looked at just about everywhere in her room, save for one place, she turned her attention to her bathroom door and grimaced. Her stomach started to churn and the palms of her hands were now sweaty. A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face as she swallowed hard and made a decision that was quite difficult. Slowly, Naegi made her way over to her bathroom door. Her heart started to pound within her chest and when Naegi finally managed to grasp the doorknob to her bathroom door, her body began to shake.

Taking a deep breath, Naegi opened the bathroom door using the technique Monokuma had showed her when he first told her about her problematic door. Then, little by little, Naegi pushed the door open. She had her eyes closed the entire time, dreading to open them at all. When her nose had not caught the scent of blood the bathroom once held, Naegi opened her eyes…and instantly regretted it.

Maizono’s lifeless body flashed before Naegi’s eyes, the blood and knife piercing through her stomach still vivid as ever. Naegi choked back a scream and, without even thinking, ran out of the bathroom. She breathed in and out quite heavily as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She felt sick and dizzy at the same time. She had no idea why, but all she knew was that she had to get out of her room. She just couldn’t stay in her room.

…

When Fujisaki was sent to check on Naegi after she failed to return to dining hall, she found Naegi sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up against her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. She sat in front of the door to Maizono’s room, her body shaking ever moment or so. Fujisaki nearly panicked, as she had no idea what to do. Though, upon hearing that Naegi was actually crying, Fujisaki managed to stay calm.

As she did earlier after Kuwata’s execution, Fujisaki comforted Naegi and found out what had happened. After being told about Maizono’s body in the bathroom, Fujisaki paled when saw the door to Naegi’s room open. To say that Monokuma would purposely leave Maizono’s body in Naegi’s bathroom for her to find wouldn’t be that farfetched.

Of course, Fujisaki would have to check herself to confirm if that had actually happened, except the last thing Fujisaki wanted to see after witnessing two deaths already was another dead body. Thankfully, Oowada had been sent to check up on the two girls and, after a brief moment of panic upon seeing Naegi in her current state, was asked by Fujisaki to check Naegi’s bathroom.

Oowada did just that. He had been initially enraged at the idea Monokuma had left Maizono’s body in Naegi’s bathroom…except that hadn’t been the case. Oowada’s anger had instantly subsided when he saw how clean Naegi’s bathroom was. Perplexed, Oowada told Fujisaki and Naegi of his findings and earned a rather shocked response from Naegi.

“B-But I saw…” Naegi couldn’t believe it.

Oowada rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not exactly sure what you saw, but there’s absolutely nothing in there.”

“M-Maybe you’re just seeing things…” Fujisaki suggested. “It has been a rather stressful day…”

Naegi bit her lip. “…”

“You can check yourself if you’re so hung up about it,” Oowada remarked. “C’mon, the guys are waiting in the dining hall.”

“Okay…” Naegi said firmly. “I’ll just go check and then we can go…”

…

…

In total, everyone in the dining hall had been waiting for more than an hour by time Fujisaki and Oowada returned with Naegi.

“Sorry I’m late…” Naegi said sheepishly.

Asahina looked at Naegi and frowned. “Are you okay, Naegi?”

Asahina had recently dropped the –kun from Naegi’s name after Kuwata’s execution. Naegi didn’t mind this, but still referred to her as, “Asahina-san.”

“I’m fine,” Naegi replied, though that was a lie. She looked rather nauseous and distressed.

Of course, Ishimaru took Naegi’s reply to heart. “You sure took your sweet time! I was just about to get you and drag you back here!”

Ishimaru’s loud volume had caused Naegi to flinch. “S-Sorry…”

“So? Was your room fixed up like he said?” Ishimaru smiled as he let out a lighthearted laugh. “I imagine it would be pretty hard to sleep with a rotting corpse in your bathroom!”

Ishimaru had intended to make Naegi feel better with his comment. However, it had the opposite effect. The reminder of what had once been in her bathroom was enough to make Naegi feel worse.

“Ulp!” Naegi covered her mouth.

“Jesus, that’s fucked up, man,” Oowada remarked as he patted Naegi a few times on the back in an attempt to reassure her. He felt a little awkward, but by now, he had grown tired of letting Fujisaki do all the comforting when he felt he had to do something himself. “Why would you say something like that?”

“My room was…spotless,” Naegi said, almost as if she was trying to convince herself. “There wasn’t anything left. Like the whole thing…never happened.”

Oowada and Fujisaki looked at each other. They knew Naegi was lying…because while they saw nothing, she did.

“It must be tough staying there, knowing what happened,” Oogami remarked. “Why don’t you just stay in Maizono’s room?”

“Well…staying there, with her scent still hanging in the air…” Naegi bit her lip. “That would hurt just as much. Plus…I’ve decided that I can’t turn away from her death…”

“N…Naegi…” Asahina frowned. “Hey, cheer up! Getting depressed isn’t gonna help anything, right? If we all work together, I’m sure we’ll find a way out of here! So everyone just…try and cheer up and get back on track!”

Asahina’s smile managed to make Naegi feel better. For a moment, Naegi felt as if everything was okay.

…

Then Togami scoffed. “Is that honestly supposed to make us feel better?”

“Huh?” A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Asahina’s face.

“We were already ‘working together’ and yet someone was still murdered.” Togami smirked. “Anyone could betray us at this point. Now that it’s happened once, it’s a question of when, not if, the next one takes place.”

“W-We can all thank M-Maizono Sayaka for firing the first shot…” Fukawa scowled.

“…” Naegi bit her lip.

“B-But…if we work together against the mastermind, nobody’ll have any reason to do something like that!” Asahina protested.

“Keep telling yourself that.” To say that Togami wasn’t annoyed with Asahina’s protest would be an understatement. “I’ll be over here in the real word. Working together, fighting a common enemy…Like it or not, it’s not that simple.”

Yamada was practically sweating bullets. “…What do you mean?”

“The mastermind seems to be much more powerful than we ever suspected.” Celes diverted her eyes to the side. “They took over Hope’s Peak Academy, which was supposed to be well defended, then modified it to fit their desire. They created Monokuma, which seems to be incredibly advanced, and they’re providing for our every need. And the cherry on top is the execution we witnessed.”

Everyone in the room, save for Kirigiri, Oogami, and Togami, seemed to shift uncomfortably in their spots at the mere mention of the word, “execution.”

“Everything has been planned down to the last excruciating detail.” Celes placed her hand on her chin in thought. “This is not the work of your everyday psychopath. Defying them may be too great of a risk…”

“In that case, what is best for us to do?” Oogami asked.

“Anyone who truly does wants to escape…will just have to follow the rules.” Togami’s expression hardened. “In which case, the only option is to deceive those around you, and win the game.”

“N-No…” Fujisaki said quietly. By now, tears were beginning to stream down her cheeks. She didn’t like what Togami was saying.

Togami scowled at Fujisaki. “What was that?”

“I don’t want to live…if it means killing someone else to do it.” Fujisaki sniffed as she wiped her eyes. “I don’t want to kill anyone else…!”

Hagakure ran his hand through his hair. “Anyone…else? What do you mean?”

“Kuwata-kun died because we all voted for him, right?” Fujisaki looked at everyone with her watery eyes. “It’s no different from us killing him ourselves!”

The top half of Hagakure’s face turned blue as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. “B-But…”

“If we hadn’t voted for him, then we all woulda died instead, right…?” Asahina pursed her lips. “That isn’t what you wanted, is it…?”

Fujisaki said nothing and just cried softly.

“She’s right,” Yamada said as he adjusted his glasses. “If you heap that kind of blame on yourself, you’ll turn into a full-fledged masochist.”

Fujisaki wasn’t feeling any better after hearing that. She did try to stop crying, but that only brought more tears to her eyes.

“Hey, Fujisaki-san…” Naegi looked concerned at Fujisaki. Twice already, Fujisaki had comforted her when she was crying…now it was Naegi’s turn to return the favor. “You’re not to blame. Not you, not Kuwata-kun, and not Maizono-san. The mastermind is responsible for everything that’s happened. We had no choice but to vote. I can’t even imagine what would’ve happened to us if we refused…And in the end, it was Monokuma who ultimately killed Kuwata-kun…!”

Naegi trembled a bit when she recalled Kuwata’s execution. Even now, the execution was still fresh in her memory, as if it had only happened minutes ago. She swallowed hard and looked reassuringly at Fujisaki.

“So don’t waste your anger on yourself…” Naegi smiled at Fujisaki. “Instead, direct it at the mastermind!”

Fujisaki looked at Naegi as she sniffed. Her tears had started to stop and she had managed to calm down. Of course, before she could even say anything to Naegi, the bell rang.

_Ding dong, bing bong!_

The monitor in the dining hall flickered on, the screen soon showing Monokuma sitting in a chair within a room that had many monitors showing various locations on their screens. Monokuma held a wineglass full of what appeared to be red wine in his left hand (paw?).

**_“Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point will be strictly prohibited. Oh, and one other thing…”_ **

Monokuma’s posture seemed to straighten up as he continued speaking. **_“It was totally obvious before that you were trying to make yourselves feel better and justify what you did.”_**

…

**_“See you, see you, don’t see you, see you!”_** Monokuma remarked. **_“That’s about how much I can see you, even when you try to hide! Now pay attention and remember this well! The burden of judging others is a heavy one to bear. So be well aware of your actions! Order and stability rely on the sacrifice and responsibility of everyone! And with that, I wish you all a good night. Sweet dreams…”_**

The monitor turned off.

…

Fukawa let out a shriek as she clutched her head. “What w-was that about just n-now…?”

“Was he saying it’s our fault what happened?” Hagakure let out a shaky sighed as he crossed his arms. “That’s pretty cruel, man…”

Beads of sweat rolled down Oowada’s forehead as he clenched his teeth. “That piece of shit! Who does he think he is?!”

At that moment, the monitor flickered back on and Monokuma appeared on the screen once more. **_“Oh, and Naegi-kun?”_**

Naegi jumped. “Huh?!”

**_“You really making my job even harder…twice in a day is just too much to be cleaning after you,”_** Monokuma sighed. **_“So I won’t be cleaning your little mess until tomorrow. You really should have thought twice before throwing up on your own bed…”_**

The monitor turned off immediately after that. The room was suddenly quiet after that and all attention was now on Naegi.

Naegi bit her lip. She really had hoped that everyone would have gone without knowing what had happened in her room…Of course, Monokuma wouldn’t have that and went on announcing to the entire school what had happened. And now Naegi was being given a numerous amount of concerned stares by her own peers.

“Are you okay, Naegi?” Asahina asked.

“I’m fine…” Naegi exhaled shakily. “I just…overreacted.”

“To what, exactly?” Kirigiri looked questioningly at Naegi.

“…” Naegi said nothing and just turned to Oowada and Fujisaki instead.

The two looked at each other and sighed. They really had hoped that they didn’t have to tell anyone about Naegi’s problem…

“When I went to fetch Naegi-kun earlier, I found her crying outside of her room…” Fujisaki began. “She said that Maizono-san’s body was still in her bathroom…”

“The thing is, there’s nothing there,” Oowada explained as he rubbed the back of his head. “I checked there myself, Fujisaki did too…but when Naegi checked, she freaked and ran over to her bed and…yeah.”

Naegi looked down. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me…it’s just whenever I look into my bathroom, all I see is Maizono-san with the knife sticking out of her stomach…”

…

…

“Trauma,” Kirigiri said. “It’s trauma, Naegi-kun.”

“Huh?” Naegi looked questioningly at Kirigiri.

“Psychological trauma would be a better term,” Kirigiri continued. “It seems that you’ve been traumatized by finding Maizono-san’s dead body in your bathroom.”

“It must have been a delayed reaction.” Oogami looked over Naegi.

“Perhaps that is how she managed to take Enoshima’s death in stride.” Celes recalled how composed Naegi had managed to stay when the Super High-School Level Fashionista was killed before everyone’s eyes. “Kuwata, not so much…”

“Have a weak stomach, don’t you, Naegi-chi?” Hagakure smiled at Naegi.

A small blush tinged Naegi’s cheeks. “Uh…I guess…”

“I doubt she’ll be able to go near her bathroom without having flashbacks,” Togami mused. “Quite the inconvenience, wouldn’t you say?”

“A-Almost as an inconvenience as b-being afraid of blood…” Fukawa added as she bit her thumb.

“Mind your manners, Togami.” Kirigiri narrowed her eyes at Togami. “Naegi-kun’s dealing with a rather natural reaction to something as stressful as finding a dead body in her bathroom.”

“I’m just saying what’s on my mind.” Togami turned away from Kirigiri. “I’ll be leaving, now.”

Fukawa nodded. “S-Same here.”

“It is rather late,” Yamada yawned.

Togami, Fukawa, and Yamada left immediately after that. The rest of the remaining students stayed behind.

“It is in fact very late.” Ishimaru nodded his head. “But so long as a fellow student is distressed, I shall remain here.”

“What makes you think that she needs you?” Oowada stared sternly at Ishimaru. “You lack tact, so watch what you say.”

Ishimaru nodded his head firmly. “I’ll take that into consideration.”

“So where’s Naegi going to sleep?” Asahina asked as she looked around at her peers. “Naegi’s room isn’t exactly…clean right now.”

“Naegi-kun can stay in my room.” Fujisaki was surprisingly quick to offer. “I-I mean…if Naegi-kun is okay with that…”

Naegi looked at Fujisaki, who was now sporting a light blush on her face. “Fujisaki-san…okay, I’ll take up your offer.”

“R-Really?” Fujisaki smiled. “Okay, follow me!”

Fujisaki seemed happier than before as she led Naegi to her room. That was one thing the remaining students in the dining hall noticed as they watched the two girls leave. It took a moment for anyone to speak.

“They’re certainly looking happier,” Hagakure remarked.

“I’m glad they’re both happy!” Asahina beamed. “I was worried about both of them for a second…”

“Same,” Oowada said as he rubbed the back of his head. “Those two seemed to have hit it off rather well.”

“Indeed.” Celes nodded her head.

“I’d say it’s rather fortunate those two to have latched onto each other when they did,” Kirigiri mused. “Fujisaki-san is definitely the type of person Naegi-kun needs right now and vice versa.”

“Since everything seems to have been settled, I believe it is time for all of us to return to our rooms,” Ishimaru stated. “The doors should be closing soon.”

“Hey, Sakura-chan…can I sleep with you again?” Asahina looked questioningly at Oogami.

Oogami blinked and smiled. “You may.”

And so ended the long day, one of which the twelve remaining students of Hope’s Peak Academy managed to endure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blaaargh, behold, a very short chapter that probably should have been longer, but I felt like ending it here! I said I would be updating this fic soon, and here is chapter three after two months…Depending on what happens, I might get chapter four up soon, though don’t quote me on that.  
> In any case, let me explain Naegi’s current scenario…she is going through some trauma. It’s a natural occurrence for people to go through it after such a stressful experience. Naegi is no exception, and that is why this chapter is called Trauma. One of the things I wanted to go into in this story was delve into the possible effects a character’s death had on the other characters. Naegi already had her reaction to Kuwata, but the thing with Maizono is that Maizono was killed in her bathroom, which is definitely going to leave a huge impression on her. Try to think of it as going into a room where you know someone has been killed in and doing your best to keep it out of your head…kinda difficult, no?  
> It’s kinda worse for Naegi, who has flashbacks about it whenever she tries to look inside her bathroom. Though, as Togami has mentioned, it is a bit of an inconvenience because how is Naegi going to use her bathroom without freaking out? She’ll have to resort to using the restrooms in the hallway. And as for bathing…I’ll get into that in the next chapter.  
> And since many people were asking for it, I hope you enjoyed the Fujisaki/Naegi bonding in this chapter. These two are already hitting it off as friends and considering how I said that this story is basically going to be Naegi/everyone…yeah. Make what you will of that.  
> I’m also starting to notice how much Togami is picking on Naegi and I’m not sure if I did that intentionally, so I guess…it just happened. Now that I managed to get the last bit of plot-induced story, I can start getting to the part I have been waiting for: Free Time. Course, that will be until the next chapter, which I hope to get up soon…  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and sorry if it’s short. And sorry if this A/N is a little long and thank you to those who took the time to read it! So that’s it for now. Until next time, guys!


	4. Interest

The next morning started off rather…awkward, mostly, in the sense that Monokuma had called up everyone to the gymnasium during the morning announcement for radio exercises, of all things. Of course, the radio exercises were just a ploy to announce the actual news, which involved, what Monokuma referred to as, “a whole new world” opening up each time everyone survived a trial. One quick search of the school later quickly revealed that the second floor was now accessible.

The first place Naegi decided to check on the second floor was the room closest to stairs. Upon entering the room, Naegi had quickly found herself face to face with Asahina.

“Hey, Naegi! Guess what!” Asahina exclaimed.

Naegi blinked. “H-Huh?!”

“Guess what I found!” Asahina sounded rather excited. “A pool! There’s a pool here! A POOL! Pool pool pool!”

“Y-You don’t have to keep repeating it, I got it…” Naegi remarked.

“And there’s a ton of exercise equipment in the locker room!” Asahina added. “Sakura-chan’s gonna go nuts when she finds out!”

Naegi nodded. “Yeah, you’re right about that…”

Asahina seemed more excited than usual. It reminded Naegi of herself when she discovered the various types of meats in the kitchen…not that she would openly admit that she got excited over meat.

“The locker rooms connect to a pool!” Asahina continued. “It looks super nice! And big! And fantastic to swim in! Ahh, I’m beyond excited right now! I can’t wait to dive in! In fact, I’m gettin’ kinda mad thinking about it!”

_“Wh-Why are you getting mad…?”_ Naegi was taken aback by Asahina’s enthusiasm.

At that moment, Celes exited the girls’ locker room. She seemed rather pleased. “The living area has certainly grown now that the second floor has opened up.”

“It definitely has!” Asahina agreed. “There’s a pool! A _pool_!”

Asahina couldn’t get over this little fact. She was just so happy.

“Whatever else is going on, I must admit things have been made much more comfortable for us.” Celes’s expression suddenly turned serious. “If things continue like this, the occasional class trial may not be so bad.”

Asahina’s enthusiasm suddenly dimmed as she stared wide-eyed at Celes. Naegi looked at Celes with a similar expression. Celes was rather amused at the wide-eyed stares the two girls gave her and giggled behind her hand. Asahina and Naegi didn’t hesitate to take a few steps away from Celes.

Naegi swallowed hard and looked around the room in an attempt to forget what Celes had just said. Be it, Celes was just saying what was on her mind, but after what happened yesterday, Naegi wasn’t in the mood for conversations she felt were a little “too soon.”

_“I wonder what’s up with Fujisaki-san…”_ Naegi had noticed that Fujisaki was staring intently at the two differently colored doors leading to the locker rooms. “Hey, Fujisaki-san, have you checked out the pool yet?”

Fujisaki had nearly jumped when Naegi had asked her that question. She turned around, clasping her hands together somewhat nervously over her chest as she looked at Naegi. “No…I…don’t like wearing swimsuits.”

Naegi had figured Fujisaki would be the type to not like wearing swimsuits.

“But still…it sounds like the locker rooms here have all the exercise equipment you could ask for,” Fujisaki added. “Maybe I’ll give it a try. I’d kind of like to get a little stronger…”

“You want to get stronger?” Naegi repeated. “I have to say, that’s kind of unexpected…”

Fujisaki blushed. “But…I’m not even brave enough to step foot into the locker room…”

“Huh?” Naegi was a little perplexed. “You don’t even wanna go in the locker room?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Fujisaki replied. “It’s just…”

…

“I’m sorry…” Fujisaki sniffed as tears welded up in the corners of her eyes.

Naegi frowned. “You don’t have to apologize. You can always try later.”

“I guess…” Fujisaki wiped away her tears using the backs of her sleeves.

“If you want, I can check inside for you…” Naegi offered.

“If you want to go inside, you need your handbook!” Asahina literally popped up in between Naegi and Fujisaki. “Otherwise, you can’t open the door!”

Naegi blinked. “R-Really?”

“Really really!” very much unwanted familiar voice suddenly spoke up.

Asahina, Fujisaki, and Naegi shrieked simultaneously when Monokuma appeared right in front of them. Celes wasn’t as surprised with Monokuma’s sudden appearance as her classmates were. She only gave the dual-colored bear a look of disdain as he laughed in his own distinctive manner.

“If you wanna unlocker the locker room…you’ll have to swipe your personal e-Handbook across the card reader next to the door,” Monokuma explained. “However, to ensure maximum security within each locker room…only a boy’s handbook can open the boys’ locker room, and the same goes for the girls! And that’s the bottom line!”

Asahina blinked and thought for a moment. “Hmm…but what if someone opens the door, and then someone else sneaks?”

Monokuma’s eyes glowed red as he unsheathed his claws. “Anyone who commits such indecency will be punished without mercy for their scandalous sexual depravity! Do you see that Gatling gun hanging from the ceiling?”

If Naegi, Fujisaki, Asahina, and Celes didn’t see it before, they did _now_ after Monokuma directed their attention to the Gatling gun mounted on the ceiling. While not exactly discreet, its location on the ceiling was enough for the Gatling gun to have gone mostly unnoticed. It definitely made Naegi consider looking twice at her surroundings.

“That’s the punishment!” Monokuma continued. “And it’ll be all DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA DUKKA!”

Asahina scowled. “Hey, if you shoot that at us, someone is going to get hurt!!”

Fujisaki nervously clasped her hands together over her chest. “Um, no…I think it’d be a _little_ worse than that…”

“Little” was an understatement, and Fujisaki _knew_ that. The sight of the Gatling gun on the ceiling and the information of what it could do under the right circumstances was enough to give Fujisaki another reason to avoid entering the locker room. Though, now she felt rather worried about Naegi, who had planned on entering the girls’ locker room.

Speaking of Naegi, she was now reconsidering her thoughts on entering the locker room. She still wanted to check the locker room for Fujisaki, who now had a _very_ good reason to be afraid of even coming _near_ the locker rooms. But then Naegi considered her luck, which was, to put in simpler terms, absolute shit (in her opinion), and the Gatling gun just wasn’t helping with that as it only gave Naegi even _more_ reason to stay away from the doors _because_ of her luck.

“But what happens if someone loans their handbook to someone else?” Celes felt the need to ask such a question. “A boy could borrow a girl’s handbook, and that would get them into the girls’ locker room, would it not?”

Monokuma was about ready to answer Celes’s question in his usual condescending way when he realized…he had nothing. “I hadn’t thought of that. I never would’ve guessed such a barbaric, cowardly, conniving loophole existed!”

Celes pursed her lips. She felt as if Monokuma was trying to imply something about her. It would have almost been insulting if Celes hadn’t come to expect this sort of behavior from Monokuma.

“Hmm…” Monokuma titled his head to the side in thought. “Okay, then how’s this sound? Time for a new rule! As of this moment, loaning your e-Handbook to another student is strictly prohibited.” Monokuma seemed rather pleased with himself. “There! So now nobody can give their handbook to anyone else, right? You like that? I’m kind of a genius, right? It’s cuz my brain is 100% cotton!”

“I do not imagine that anyone would have lent their handbook out in the first place.” Celes began twirling a lock of her black hair with her index finger. “After all, they would likely be held responsible for anything that person might do using the handbook…”

“But ya know, you seem awfully concerned with all this locker room security stuff…” Asahina remarked.

“It’s cuz all you teenagers are sex-crazed maniacs!” Monokuma was blushing profusely as beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face. “You’re at that age you’d try humping a plastic bottle!”

Celes stopped twirling her hair upon hearing Monokuma’s comment. While it had left Asahina, Naegi, and Fujisaki blushing in response to Monokuma’s _careful_ choice of words, Celes was mostly annoyed.

“So to keep anything unseemly from happening, I have to maintain a rigorous watch!” Monokuma continued.

“Then in that case, I would ask that you keep the same close eye on our dorms.” Celes began twirling her hair again. “If something was to happen, that would be the place. We _are_ a group of boys and girls living under the same roof, after all…”

“All I care about is protecting the holy image of the school itself!” Monokuma stated. “I don’t care what happens in your private dorms! By force or by cunning, do whatever you want!”

Asahina glared at Monokuma. “I hate you so much…”

“Okay, so the new regulation is now in place!” Monokuma exclaimed. “See ya!”

Without saying another word, Monokuma disappeared, as usual.

…

…

“Maaan, that stupid bear totally ruined my mood!” Asahina sighed in frustration. “Maybe I’ll go take a dip to cheer myself up. Celes-chan, Fujisaki-chan, you wanna come with me?”

Celes frowned. “There is nothing I hate more than getting water on my face.”

“Sorry…I’ll pass this time,” Fujisaki replied.

“Why?” Asahina stared wide-eyed at Celes and Fujisaki. “When you’re feeling down, swimming is the best!”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. _“Maybe that’s just you…”_

“What about you, Naegi?” Asahina looked questioningly at Naegi. “You wanna come with me? We could totally race each other!”

Naegi laughed nervously. “Maybe later…I don’t have a swimsuit.”

And considering Asahina’s title, Naegi would lose within a matter of seconds. Not that Naegi ever thought she had a chance. She always did average in races. She was never too good nor too bad…always in the middle where it was easy to blend in and disappear. Average as can be.

“Okay…” Asahina seemed a little disappointed with Naegi’s response, but still managed to smile. “But remember! The minute you get a swimsuit, you…me… _pool_.”

“Y-Yeah…pool…” A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. _“What did I get myself into…?”_

…

…

Sometime later, after Naegi had checked the locker room for Fujisaki, she left to explore the rest of the second floor. She found Oogami in one of the empty classrooms and the two had a small conversation with each other before going on their separate ways. Eventually, Naegi came across the library and entered, finding Kirigiri, Togami, Fukawa, and Yamada inside.

Kirigiri and Togami were rather busy examining the green laptop on the desk in front of them. Fukawa and Yamada were arguing over what Naegi could only assumed to be trivial matters. The two were rather vocal about their argument and out of all the things they had managed to say, only a few of their words stuck with Naegi, those words being romance novels, doujinshi, and something about Boys Love…

_“Do I even want to know?”_ Naegi blinked as she watched Fukawa and Yamada continue yelling at each other. She was amazed that Kirigiri and Togami were able to keep their calm composure as they continued to tamper with the green laptop.

Though, after about a minute or so, Togami began to lose his patience with Fukawa and Yamada and demanded they take their argument elsewhere, preferably away from the library. The cold look in his eyes, as well as the harsh tone in his voice was enough to make Fukawa and Yamada run out of the library in tears. Togami watched them run out, somewhat amused, mostly irritated. He arched his brow when he saw Fukawa and Yamada knock Naegi onto the floor as they ran by her. He briefly wondered how long Naegi had been in the room before turning his attention back onto the green laptop, which had just been closed by Kirigiri.

“It’s broken,” Kirigiri stated. “Even plugging it in won’t let it start up.”

“Hmph, figures…” Togami crossed his arms. “Why else would the bear leave something like this out in the open for us?”

“False hope?” Kirigiri suggested.

“That sounds about right.” Togami adjusted his glasses. “And why are you here?”

Naegi had just finished getting off the floor when Togami had asked her. “Ah…I’m just looking around…did you two find anything?”

“Just this laptop, Naegi-kun,” Kirigiri replied. “But it’s broken.”

“I-I see…” Naegi sighed as she looked around the room.

“It’s remarkably dusty in here, so do try to keep that in mind,” Kirigiri remarked.

“The lighting is also less than ideal, but it’ll have to do, I suppose…” Togami said as he picked up a book on the desk. “And if you’re wondering about that door over there, it just leads to a storage room full of huge piles of books. I doubt there’s anything of interest for someone like you in there.”

“I guess…” Naegi wasn’t much of a reader anyways. Be it, she did like to read every once in a while, but her reading wasn’t strictly limited to books. “Huh…what’s this?”

While Naegi was looking around the room, a nearby small book shelf caught her eye. There seemed to be something on top of the shelf, but Naegi wasn’t too sure.  She walked over to the shelf for a closer look and found an envelope. The envelope was nearly hidden under the thick coating of dust that covered the top of the shelf… _nearly_. After blowing off some of the dust on the envelope, Naegi was able to make out the writing on it.

“Hope’s Peak Academy…Head Office…?” is what Naegi read off the envelope.

“There’s quite a lot of dust on it…” Kirigiri had startled Naegi with her sudden proximity, as she was now standing right next to the shorter girl. “It must have been sitting there for quite a while. Well, shall we see what’s inside?”

Naegi blinked. “But…we shouldn’t read other people’s mail without their permission.”

“What we _shouldn’t_ do is leave this here without finding out what’s inside,” Kirigiri said firmly.

“O-Okay…” Naegi bit her lip as she broke the seal on the dusty envelope. She pulled out the single sheet of paper inside and read what was on it.

_From the Hope’s Peak Academy Executive Office_

_Throughout the years, we have been committed to shaping the youth who will one day shape the world. We have a long, proud history as an institution of higher learning with full governmental support. Our graduates enter society ready to take on active leadership roles in every major job field. However, Hope’s Peak Academy must now lower the curtain on its glorious history, for the time being._

_This decision was not an easy one to make, but serious issues beyond our control have made it necessary. But make no mistake—this is not the end for Hope’s Peak Academy. We intend to reopen our doors as soon as the issues forcing our closure have been resolved. That being said, this is the end for now… And I would like to personally thank everyone for your help and support over the years. For now, we are awaiting official governmental authorization to formally cease operations…_

…

…

“What…the hell is this…?” Naegi couldn’t believe what she had just read.

“Hmm…The contents of this letter are quite interesting indeed.” Togami, like Kirigiri, was now standing right next to Naegi. He was smirking as he looked over Naegi’s shoulder to re-read the contents of the letter.

“It would seem Hope’s Peak Academy had stopped functioning as a school,” Kirigiri said as she looked over the dusty envelope she had taken from Naegi. “And judging by the amount of dust the envelope had collected, it doesn’t seem to have happened recently. If I had to guess, I’d say it was more than a year ago, at the least.”

“So…you’re saying Hope’s Peak Academy closed that long ago?” Naegi was having a hard time believing that.

“Most likely, the mastermind took over the abandoned school in order to put on this little performance,” Togami remarked.

“B-But that would mean it was closed when I got here just a few days ago…” Naegi could still remember how the school appeared to her when she first approached its gates. Sure, it seemed empty on the outside, but… “But I didn’t get that sense at all. Plus, if the school _had_ shut down, don’t you think it would’ve been in all the newspapers and stuff? I mean, you’re saying it could’ve happened over a year ago, right?”

“At _least_ a year,” Kirigiri specified.

“But before I got here, I looked stuff up online about the school, and never saw anything about this.” Naegi recalled looking up as much information on Hope’s Peak Academy as she could the day before she left for Hope’s Peak Academy. Finding out that she wasn’t the only Super High School Level Good Luck at Hope’s Peak Academy was rather comforting for someone as average as her…and then Monokuma happened.

“That must have all been part of the mastermind’s plan,” Togami inferred. “They lured us all in here…Someone who could create a place to judge and execute people could potentially be capable of anything. Of course, that’s all assuming that this letter is real.”

“If it is real, though, that does solve one mystery surrounding the school…” Kirigiri placed her hand on her chin. “The reason there are no other students here could be because the school had already closed down.”

Naegi sighed. _“So much for meeting that other Super High School Level Good Luck…”_

Togami smirked. “That would be a nice, simple solution, it’s true. But then…what about this other part?”

Togami reached over Naegi’s shoulder to point out a specific part of the letter that had caught his eye.

_This decision was not an easy one to make, but serious issues beyond our control have made it necessary. But make no mistake—this is not the end for Hope’s Peak Academy. We intend to reopen our doors as soon as the issues forcing our closure have been resolved._

“What did they mean by serious issues?” Naegi looked at the letter again. “That’s apparently why the school had to close…Is there any connection between that and what’s happening to us now…?”

Kirigiri thought about it for a moment. “If the two events are in fact connected…uncovering that connection would be a useful clue, on top of figuring out the mastermind’s motive…Although, I can’t really say any more until we find more details.”

Togami crossed his arms over his chest as he narrowed his eyes. “So in other words, only the mastermind knows the truth right now.”

_“That mastermind’s motive…”_ Naegi thought. _“If we can figure out why they would want to imprison us all here…will that be enough to get us out of here?”_

…

…

Naegi sighed and handed Kirigiri the letter. There really wasn’t much she could do now. She had at least gotten a good idea what was on the second floor.

_“I should return to the dining hall as soon as possible.”_ Naegi could only hope that someone else found something worthwhile. Though, before Naegi could even do anything, Hagakure barged into the library. “Ack!”

Hagakure looked around the room and smiled when he saw Naegi. He walked over to Naegi and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Naegi-chi! I’ve been looking for you everywhere! I found something you might like!”

“Huh?” Naegi blinked. “What are you—hey!”

Hagakure didn’t even bother to let Naegi finish her question as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. “You need to see this!”

“Put me down!” Naegi wailed. “Hagakure-kun!”

Hagakure ignored Naegi as he walked out of the library with her over his shoulder. It was a rather interesting sight to see, but more so in the sense that the Super High School Level Good Luck could not catch a break. So when Kirigiri turned to Togami, she wasn’t that much surprised to see him smirking in amusement. Though, something still puzzled her.

“Why the sudden interest in Naegi-kun?” Kirigiri had noticed that Togami had been paying more attention to Naegi when, prior to the class trial, he couldn’t even bother to look in her direction. And in his own way, he was even interacting with her, be it, Togami wasn’t exactly being quite nice to Naegi, but the fact that he was even bothering her in the first place said something.

“Naegi is an enigma,” Togami replied, almost as if it had been obvious. “One that I can’t seem to figure out…she’s much like you, to be frank. Though, she’s much more of an open book, compared to you and yet…she still manages to be so unpredictable.”

“Hmm…so that what it is,” Kirigiri remarked.

Togami adjusted his glasses. “I still can’t fathom as to why you had Naegi find the culprit on her own when you had all the answers.”

“Whereas the rest of us have been scouted out based on our expertise in a certain field, Naegi-kun is an anomaly,” Kirigiri explained. “The title, Super High School Level Good Luck was given to her via luck of the draw. Whether or not she lives up to her title is up to question, but for the most part…wouldn’t you say she is rather ordinary?”

“Quite,” Togami replied. “What does that have to do with my question?”

“Morale,” Kirigiri simply said. “Without someone like her, the others would never be able to break free of the desperate situation we are in.”

Togami stared at Kirigiri for a moment. “How…naïve.”

A small smile crossed Kirigiri’s face. “That it is…but you cannot deny that Naegi-kun’s perseverance has affected everyone to some extent.”

While the Super High School Level Heir said nothing, Kirigiri could tell that he had found some truth in her comment. The fact that Togami refused to look at her only confirmed it.

“Now what of you?” Kirigiri asked. “What was your reason for staying quiet? I’m sure you must have figured out who the culprit was during the trial…yet you also let Naegi-kun figure it out on her own.”

Togami narrowed his eyes. “I was merely observing the situation. Had Naegi not figured it on her own, I would have done so myself.”

“Is that so…?” Kirigiri felt as if she had heard enough from Togami. “Very well, then…Though a word of caution. Do not let your interest in Naegi-kun become an obsession.”

Togami scoffed.

…

…

* * *

Elsewhere on the first floor,

Naegi looked at her new surroundings before turning to Hagakure, who seemed rather pleased with himself. “Where am I?”

“Haven’t you ever been to a public bath?” Hagakure looked questioningly at Naegi. “This is the changing room!”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “I’ve been to a public bath before. What I meant to ask is _why_ am I here?”

Hagakure rubbed the back of his head. “Since you can’t exactly enter your bathroom without remember _her_ , I thought that this might make you feel better. Now you don’t have to use your bathroom! Problem solved, right?”

“I-I guess…” Naegi sighed. “So what else is there on the first floor?”

“Well, Ishimaru-chi found a warehouse full of food, clothes, and other things,” Hagakure replied before frowning. “Still no exit, though…but at least you don’t have to worry about staying clean, right?”

“Right…” Naegi looked around the room again. “Uh…I only see one door…”

“Yeah, it leads to the bath,” Hagakure remarked. “It’s huge!”

“But is it divided?” Naegi asked.

Hagakure stared at Naegi for a moment before realizing what she had meant. “Oh…no, it isn’t…worried about someone walking in on you, huh?”

A light blush tinged Naegi’s cheeks. “Maybe…”

Hagakure grinned widely as he patted Naegi on the shoulder. “It’s fine, it’s fine! Everyone has their own bathroom, so I doubt anyone will find much use for this bathhouse!”

“Okay…” Naegi still had her doubts, but was willing to make do with what she had. She could only hope her luck wasn’t _that_ bad. The last thing she needed was Monokuma making a huge deal about it, as he was prone to do.

“Well, now that this out of the way…let’s go to the dining hall,” Hagakure said. “We shouldn’t keep everyone waiting, right?”

Naegi blinked and smiled. “Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I’m alive. And holy shit, I got another chapter up within a month instead of two. Surprise, surprise…and I know Free Time should have started this time around, but then this chapter deviated into its own…so yeah. You got insight from Togami and Kirigiri, Naegi’s bathroom problem is solved, and Asahina has a pool!  
> I should probably start taking some requests when it pertains to free time, considering that I will make SURE that everyone (who isn’t dead) gets ALL their free time fulfilled. And then some, by which I mean originality and that could be anything, from a pool chapter (I can’t exactly deny Asahina, people) to Naegi and Fujisaki just being adorable. And maybe someone walking in on Naegi while she’s bathing, because as if I’m gonna avoid THAT scenario. Question is…who exactly should I make walk in on Naegi? I’m gonna put up choices on Kirigiri, Fujisaki, Togami, Oowada, Ishimaru, and Fukawa…pick your poison, people!  
> You can suggest things when it pertains to each character, but make sure it’s in-character because in-character awkwardness is quite fun to work with. Also, free time will be a thing, but priority WILL go to Oowada, Fujisaki, and Ishimaru. Because they are my precious babies…babies…  
> Also, behold references to the other Super High School Level Good Luck! Spoilers for Super Dangan Ronpa 2, it’s Nagito Komaeda. Yeah…is it really much of a spoiler when it’s just talking about a character in name and such? Eh, I dunno…anyways, I kinda developed a sudden obsession with Komaegi (Komaeda/Naegi) while I was typing this chapter up. It has to do with a side story involving the day Naegi got the letter from Hope’s Peak Academy…I'll just link it so everyone can get a chance to read it because let me just say…poor Naegi.  
> LINK: http://marchen-v-friedhof.tumblr.com/post/62229920031/summary-of-dangan-ronpa-dvd-blu-ray-vol-1-novel-the  
> Also, Komaeda also gets a reference there. Part of the reason I became suddenly obsessed with Komaegi. Maybe I could write an AU of sorts for those two for the sake of doing something about that obsession? I dunno, that’s kinda pushing it, considering with how many fics I need to update (you may only see like three fics on my AO3 account, but on FF.Net...oh lordy, look at those fics I haven't updated and eugh, look at that one fic that looks like a freshman on summer break wrote it)…but eh. It’d be interesting and if you’re wondering if I’m gonna do a Super Dangan Ronpa 2 genderbender fanfiction with fem!Hajime…I might as well. I finally made it past chapter 3 and found translations for the rest of the game (I am now on chapter 5), so…there’s that. Course, the localization is coming out next month, but eh…details.  
> That’s about it for now, so remember, if you guys have a request for free time (take the prioritized characters into consideration, though), don’t be shy to say it! And if you have a request for a certain interaction between two characters (or more, I’m not picky), in which the Naegi/everyone pairing is made more obvious…go ahead and say it. Just keep in mind that I have to build up chemistry, so start off small with bonding time! Nothing too serious, just little moments. An example of such a moment could be Togami being a prick to Naegi or again, Fujisaki and Naegi being adorable. God, those two freaking hit it off fast. They seriously caught me off guard.  
> So until next chapter, readers! KD out!


	5. Friends

“Oh…it’s y-you.”

“Fukawa-san.”

Naegi and Fukawa stared at each other. It was just the two of them, alone…in the bathhouse. Naegi was already sitting at one of the many washing stations. She had just finished filling a bucket with water when Fukawa had entered through the doors. Fukawa had nearly dropped the bucket in her arms when she had seen Naegi.

Neither had been expecting company, which is what made their encounter a tad bit awkward. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they were wearing nothing but towels. Or maybe…it was the realization of how likely the possibility of someone walking in on another while they were bathing was, regardless of the fact that everyone had a shower in their bathroom. Whatever it was (it was most likely both), Naegi and Fukawa were at least relieved that they were both girls.

That still didn’t stop their encounter from being any less awkward. The two were still staring at each other and had yet to say anything. About four minutes had passed before Fukawa huffed in annoyance and started making her way over to the washing stations.

Naegi was a little surprised when Fukawa picked the washing station right next to her, but said nothing about it. Instead, she just picked up the bucket she had filled with water and poured it over her head. The hot water felt good…

 _“I could get used to this…”_ Naegi sighed contently as she set the bucket onto the floor. She squirted a generous amount shampoo into her hand from one of the dispensers in front of her and lathered it into her hair. Though, after a few moments, Naegi had stopped scrubbing her hair when she noticed that Fukawa was staring at her. “Is there something wrong, Fukawa-san?”

A small blush tinged Fukawa’s cheeks as she smiled. “Mine are bigger…”

Naegi stared at Fukawa…then narrowed her eyes when she realized what Fukawa had meant. Rather than say anything to Fukawa, Naegi stayed silent and continued to scrub her hair. She was at least glad to see that Fukawa, of all people, was happy…even if it was at the cost of her own dignity…

“Do you need any help?” Naegi decided to change the subject.

“Help w-with what?” Fukawa looked perplexed at Naegi.

“Your hair, unbraiding it, that is…I could also help you wash your back or hold your glasses for you, if you want…” Naegi suggested before pouring a bucket of water over her head to rinse off the shampoo in her hair. She shook her head afterwards to shake off the excess water and then looked at Fukawa. “Well?”

Fukawa didn’t know what to think of Naegi’s offer. “Why do you c-care?”

Naegi blinked. “Care…? I just wanted to know if you want any help. Do you?”

“Hmmmeeheheheeh…” Fukawa half-smiled at Naegi. “You think I’m s-stupid? You’re trying to trick me!”

“What—no!” Naegi was appalled that Fukawa could ever assume that from her.

Fukawa scowled. “Y-You’re probably gonna b-break my glasses or something if I give t-them to you. And h-how do I know you’re not gonna p-pull my hair?”

“Why would I do that?!” Naegi couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“S-See? You’re yelling at me!” Fukawa’s scowl turned into a frown. “You p-probably hate me…is that it? You don’t have to l-lie about it.”

Naegi frowned. “I don’t hate you…”

“L-Liar…” Fukawa averted Naegi’s gaze. “You don’t even know me…a-and when you said you were a girl, I w-was the one to accuse you of l-lying. If it wasn’t for me, you p-probably wouldn’t have had to p-put up with that, huh? You must really h-hate me for that.”

“I don’t.” Naegi bit her lip. “And I know some things about you, so I’m not completely clueless.”

“Really?” Fukawa wasn’t convinced. “Fine. Then t-tell me…”

“Tell you what?” Naegi asked.

“You know why they c-call me the Super High School Level Writing Prodigy, right?” Fukawa felt as if Naegi should at least know why, considering she had her own title.

“Yeah, sure.” Naegi knew that about Fukawa. “You’ve won all kinds of literature prizes and stuff.”

Fukawa wasn’t expecting that from Naegi. She still wasn’t convinced, though. “Then tell me wh-what I’m good at… Tell m-me what my genre specialty is! If you r-really wanna convince me you give a crap, you should at least kn-know that…!”

Naegi blinked and smiled. “It’s romance, of course.”

“Oh…you a-actually knew?” Fukawa stared wide-eyed at Naegi.

“Your biggest success was ‘So Lingers the Ocean,’ right?” Naegi was considering checking it out, but then she and the rest of her classmates got trapped within a school. “Everyone says it’s your masterpiece. The book was such a hit that fisherman shot to the top of all ‘Hottest Men’ polls…right?”

“How did y-you know all that…?” Fukawa bit her thumb.

“Because someone as average as me should at least know who my classmates are…” Naegi still felt out of place around her classmates, but not as much as she previously felt.

Fukawa stared at Naegi for moment. “…F-Fine. I guess you c-can hold my glasses…”

Naegi smiled. “Okay!”

Fukawa felt herself blush as she handed Naegi her glasses.

…

…

Fukawa found herself walking out of the bathhouse with Naegi. Be it, Fukawa still had her doubts, but at the same time…she _wanted_ to believe Naegi actually gave a damn about her.

“I’m g-gonna go…” Fukawa felt as if she was overstaying her welcome.

“Oh…okay.” Naegi understood. “Say, do you wanna hang out tomorrow?”

“T-Tomorrow?” Fukawa repeated. “Why?”

“We’re friends, aren’t we?” Naegi smiled at Fukawa.

Fukawa had not been expecting this. She had not been expecting this at all. And Naegi sounded so _genuine_ … Fukawa didn’t know how to deal with this. “Graaaah! It buuuurns! Your kindness—i-it _buuuuuuuurns_! Hyeeeeeeeehhh!”

Fukawa couldn’t stay with Naegi any longer. She needed to leave…and so she did…by running…all the way towards her room, screaming. She nearly knocked down Ishimaru, who had been patrolling the hallway when this had happened.

“Running in the halls is unacceptable!” Ishimaru scolded Fukawa, who just ignored him.

When Fukawa reached the entrance to her room, she fumbled with her key a bit before she managed to open the door. She then entered her room and slammed the door behind her rather noisily. The noise was loud enough to echo throughout the hallway. Ishimaru was not amused and Naegi was just concerned.

 _“Did I do something wrong?”_ Naegi frowned.

…

…

“I was just asking Fukawa-san if she wanted to hang out tomorrow…” Naegi explained.

Ishimaru nodded his head as he listened. “I see…and what does that entail, Naegi-kun?”

“Huh?” Naegi blinked. “I dunno, maybe just spending time together over anything?”

It was really awkward explaining something that had yet to happen.

Ishimaru thought for a moment. “Hmm…You mean like what we are doing right now?”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Naegi tilted her head to the side. “I guess so.”

“That’s sounds good!” Ishimaru smiled widely. “I don’t exactly mind spending some of my valuable time with you.”

“Uh, that’s good to hear…” Naegi remarked.

“Though, I fail to understand why Fukawa-kun would run away from such an offer.” That still perplexed Ishimaru. “Say Naegi-kun…we’re already here, so what do you say we talk a little more?”

Naegi hadn’t been expecting that… “Sure…?”

It’s not as if she had anything better to do, now that her room had been cleaned (as mentioned by Monokuma in his not so subtle way, in which he made sure _everyone_ heard about it). There was still an hour left before nighttime.

“Very well, then…” Ishimaru considered this moment a good time to learn something about Naegi. “Let us hold a debate! No opinion or perspective left unspoken, everything laid out on the table! So what shall we discuss? Politics? The economy? International affairs?!”

“W-Wait, hold on a second…” Naegi was a little overwhelmed by Ishimaru’s suggestions. “Instead of a big, serious discussion…can’t we just have a normal conversation? That’s the best way to learn about people, I think.”

Ishimaru looked nervously at Naegi. “What do you mean by a ‘normal conversation’?”

“Umm…” Naegi thought for a moment. “Well, for example…What do you like to do in your spare time?”

It was a relatively simple question. One that even Ishimaru should be able to easily answer, at least…Naegi hoped.

Fortunately, Ishimaru was able to provide an answer. “Study, of course! I’m a student, aren’t I? A student must be a studying professional! And of course my duties as the head of the disciplinary committee keep me quite busy, as well! It’s my duty to foster an environment in which we can all focus on our studies!”

“Okay, but…what else?” Naegi already knew this part about Ishimaru. She wanted to know if there was more to the Super High School Level Moral Compass than he let on. “Like when you’re at home, or you just have some time to kill?”

“If I have time to kill, I study!” Ishimaru replied firmly.

Naegi stared wide-eyed at Ishimaru. “I…see…”

“Hahaha!” Ishimaru was enjoying his talk with Naegi. “This is fun! Okay, my turn. Naegi-kun! What do you like to do in your spare time?”

“Um, you know, just normal stuff,” Naegi replied. “Watch TV, play video games…”

Naegi failed to mention dating, as that involved mentioning her sister, Komaru, and the last thing Naegi needed at the moment was the horrifying reminder that she had no idea how her family was doing outside of Hope’s Peak Academy. That, and Naegi considered dating to be her absolute worst past-time subject to ever talk about, since she had no dating experience, whatsoever. Enoshima actually found that quite amusing and even considered trying to set Naegi up with one of her friends…

…

Naegi never really noticed how much she missed the Super High School Level Fashionista until she looked at her light purple fingernails. Enoshima had painted Naegi’s fingernails out of pure boredom. Naegi wasn’t too sure of the color at the time, but now…she didn’t really care as, aside from the bunny hairclip that she had received from Enoshima, this was all she had left of the Fashionista.

“Huh?” Ishimaru’s voice snapped Naegi out of her thoughts. “And this helps you study…how?”

“Wha—No, it’s not about studying.” Naegi shook her head. “It’s just for fun, ya know?”

“But doing things ‘just for fun’ serves no purpose!” Ishimaru crossed his arms. “There must be more to it…You wouldn’t spend your valuable time doing something useless, would you?!”

Naegi paused for a moment to think. “Hmm…you know how it’s useful? It helps give you something to talk about with other people!”

“Something to talk about…?” Ishimaru furrowed his brow.

“Like when you see something awesome on TV, or some awesome game, and you want to share it with someone,” Naegi explained. “You find other people who feel the same way, and that’s how you make friends. See?”

…

“Wh…?” Ishimaru’s eyes widened. “Whatwhatwhatwhatwhat…?! That is incredible!”

Naegi was taken aback by Ishimaru’s response. “Wh-What’s wrong?!”

“That kind of thing has plagued me for years…” Ishimaru clutched his head in his hands as tears began to stream down his cheeks. “I’ve tried making friends, but whenever I would make conversation, it would die after a few minutes…And now…I’ve finally found the answer…”

Naegi looked sympathetically at Ishimaru. “Ishimaru-kun…”

Ishimaru placed his hands on his waist and smiled knowingly. He was still crying, though. “I need to study more games! More TV shows!”

…

“N-No, you don’t need to ‘study’ them…” Naegi looked exasperated.

Of course, Ishimaru ignored Naegi and continued crying. “Ahh, I’m so ashamed of myself!  If there was a hole here, I'd crawl into it!! I didn't even notice my insufficient knowledge… I kept being troubled, and wasted my time…I’m a complete embarrassment! I’m not qualified to even be on the disciplinary committee, let alone lead it!”

“N-No…I think you’re perfectly qualified,” Naegi said reassuringly.

Ishimaru managed to stop crying and smiled widely at Naegi. “Thank you, Naegi-sensei!”

Naegi blushed. “S-Sensei?!”

Ishimaru placed his hands on his waist. “You’ve taught me a most valuable lesson! From now on, I shall call you ‘sensei’ out of respect!”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “Th-That’s not necessary!”

Not to mention, it was rather embarrassing and Naegi just couldn’t stop blushing. She was really glad that Monokuma wasn’t around to make everything worse.

“Hahaha!” Ishimaru laughed as he gently patted Naegi on the shoulder. “There’s no need to be modest, Naegi-sensei! I can’t wait for your next lesson! And until then, I will strive to learn as much as I can on my own! Well, then, Naegi-sensei! Please excuse me!!”

Without waiting for a reply, Ishimaru walked off, leaving Naegi alone to herself. After about a moment, Naegi sighed and shook her head before making her way to her room.

…

…

It was ten minutes until nighttime. Naegi was now inside her room, laying back on her recently cleaned bed. She had avoided her bathroom at all cost, not even bothering to glance at its direction…just in case. As Naegi stared at the ceiling, her thoughts drifted over to Ishimaru and the time she had spent with him.

“Naegi-sensei…” Naegi repeated, a light blush tinging her cheeks. It was still rather embarrassing to be referred to as “sensei”, but somehow, it didn’t sound that bad… It could be worse, and the more Naegi thought about it, the happier she actually felt. She smiled as she thought, _“Naegi-sensei…”_

_Ding, dong!_

Naegi blinked and sat up. Someone had just rang her doorbell… “But who…?”

An even better question would be should she open the door? It was almost nighttime, which meant everyone should have been inside their rooms already. So far, everyone had managed to follow the rule to not wander outside their rooms past nighttime, with some exceptions. Of course, it wasn’t nighttime yet, so whomever it was outside of Naegi’s room was technically not breaking the rule. That still didn’t make Naegi any less wary, especially after what had happened with Maizono…

_Ding, dong!_

Naegi blinked again and sighed.

…

…

When Naegi had opened her door, she was surprised to see that it was Fujisaki who had been ringing her doorbell. Fujisaki looked nervously at Naegi, nearly on the verge of tears as she tried to find her voice.

“I…I…” Tears welded up in the corners of Fujisaki’s eyes.

“What’s wrong, Fujisaki-san?” Naegi was rather concerned for Fujisaki.

Fujisaki clenched her fists tightly and blurted out, “Can I sleep with you?!”

…

…

Tears started to trickle down Fujisaki’s cheeks as she blushed profusely. “I-I’m sorry, I—”

Fujisaki trailed off when she noticed Naegi moved to the side to allow her inside. She stared at Naegi, who just smiled at her reassuringly.

“I wasn’t gonna say no,” was all Naegi said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter deviated into its own. And Fukawa ended up being the “trial run” walk-in (I needed someone to practice on), and somehow that ended up becoming Fukawa Free Time, which then brought in Ishimaru, and that also then became Ishimaru Free Time, so basically, here’s the Free Time that I promised last chapter (that should have been in the last chapter).  
> Also, some Fujisaki/Naegi at the end, just for the hell of it because Naegi deserves a break…which is why Monokuma hasn’t had a physical appearance in this chapter. And Togami wasn’t being a prick (at least, on-screen). Yay!  
> Anyways, bathhouse walk-in requests are still a thing, but the choices are now for Kirigiri, Fujisaki, Togami, Oowada, and Ishimaru. Fukawa has been knocked off the list as she had her encounter done…and Ishimaru is in the lead! Fujisaki is catching up, and Togami is in the middle, I’m pretty sure Oowada is in second place, and Kirigiri…tied with Togami…more or less. It’s really confusing. But yeah!  
> You guys also got some insight on Naegi’s Free Time with Enoshima, before her untimely death by Gungnir. I should probably do a side story to show the free time Naegi had with Enoshima (maybe Maizono, nothing much really changes in their free time, it’s effectively the same), since I’ll just say that Enoshima and Naegi had a lot of girl time, hence the light purple nail polish and bunny clip that Naegi now owns.  
> By the way, if you’re wondering why I switch from localization titles and translation titles for the characters, it’s mostly preference and what gets through the most in terms of what their title is. For example, let’s take a look at Ishimaru’s title…his actual title is the Super High School Level Public Morals Committee Member. It’s not Super High School Level Hall Monitor or Prefect, nope…it’s Public Morals Committee Member. The kanji on his armband (風紀) means “Public Morals”, which actually fits with his title.  
> The reason this is a bit of a thing is because the fan translations made before the official international release have translated the title as "Prefect" or "Hall Monitor" to convey a similar, familiar meaning. It’s all about conveying a similar meaning to get his title across, though Prefect is probably the most fitting of the translations. I went with Moral Compass since it ties in with his original long-ass title of Super High School Level Public Morals Committee Member.  
> And again, with Fukawa’s, I like Writing Prodigy because it seems to flatter her a bit more and I like giving Fukawa an easier time. Also, reason I stick to Super High School Level over Ultimate…I just prefer Super High School Level because that’s what I first saw when I saw the LP translation. It stuck on…  
> By the way, I FINALLY finished the Super Dangan Ronpa 2 translations (thank you birdmanronpa!) and just…oh dear god, my feels…just…my feels. Prepare yourselves, everyone, for Super Dangan Ronpa 2… And when this is all over, in which I managed to get this fic and the Super Dangan Ronpa 2 fic done, or I decide to go “fuck it”, and piss everyone off by starting a new story… I’m doing an AU of those fics where no one dies and everyone gets to live a happy, high school life (with wacky shenanigans and the like and lots of shipping), with some slight drama (none too serious), but more importantly…NO MONOKUMA. Because I feel obligated to write one…feels should not be torn in such a cruel manner.  
> I’ll promise you guys that. Maybe I’ll do it for my 20th birthday—JESUS CHRIST I’M OLD. Holy crap, I almost forgot I turned 19 in May…wow, that was a huge slap to the face. Ahem, let’s get this A/N done with. There’s nothing much to talk about, at least for now…  
> So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And sorry if the A/N was a little long, but I had to explain a thing! So until next chapter, everyone!


	6. Game

When Naegi woke up the next morning, she woke up literally seconds before Monokuma’s morning announcement…via falling off her bed.

THUD!

“Ugh…” Naegi groaned.

This in turn, woke Fujisaki up, who was dazed at first…until she heard Naegi groaning.

“Naegi-kun…?” Fujisaki peered over the edge of the bed. “Are you okay?”

_Ding dong, bing bong!_

The monitor in Naegi’s room flickered, the screen soon showing Monokuma in his usual location, sitting in the same chair, holding the same glass of wine in his left hand (paw?).

**_“Good morning, everyone!”_** Monokuma greeted. **_“It is now 7 AM and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine, and not fall off the bed like Naegi-kun just did!”_**

Not even an hour into the morning and Naegi already got put on full blast by Monokuma. What a way to start the day…

“Super High School Level Good Luck my ass…” Naegi muttered under her breath.

**_“Upupupu…”_** Monokuma laughed. **_“Anyways, get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day! Oh, that’s right! I wanted to let you know that your e-Handbooks have been updated! New regulations have been added, so please take a look and enjoy your school life more than ever before!”_**

The monitor turned off after that.

…

“Do you need any help, Naegi-kun?”

“I’m fine, Fujisaki-san…”

If only Naegi could say the same thing about her pride…

…

…

When Naegi and Fujisaki arrived at the dining hall, they were greeted by Asahina. Naegi returned the greeting and then asked if everyone was here.

“Nope!” Hagakure was quick to respond. “Still waitin’ on Togami-chi and Ishimaru-chi.”

Naegi blinked. “I can understand Togami-kun, but Ishimaru-kun?”

Celes smiled. “Ishimaru-kun went all the way to Togami-kun’s room to call the late offender here personally.”

Fujisaki nodded. “Ah, so that’s why Ishimaru-kun was in the hallway.”

“He should be back soon enough,” Oogami remarked. “Until then, we wait…”

“I don’t mind waiting for them, but there is one problem…” Celes remarked.

“Which is…?” Naegi looked questioningly at Celes.

Celes frowned. “I am thirsty.”

“How the hell is that a problem?!” Oowada scowled. For a moment, he had almost thought Celes was concerned about something actually serious.

Celes chucked as she turned to Yamada. “Yamada-kun, can you please make me some tea?”

Yamada blanked out for a moment. “…Huh?”

“Milk tea, if you please,” Celes said with a smile.

Beads of sweat rolled down the side of Yamada’s face as he looked at Celes. “Why me…?”

Celes placed her hand on her chin in thought. “Your roundish figure reminds me of the owner of the café I used to frequent.”

_“That’s…her reason?”_ Naegi was still a little perplexed.

Celes smiled at Yamada. “Do be quick about it, please. I’m parched.”

Normally, Yamada would protest, but upon seeing the smile on Celes’s face…he turned and started making his way to the kitchen, albeit reluctantly. “O-Okay…”

About a few minutes later, Yamada returned from the kitchen. He seemed rather pleased with himself as he held a tray with both of his hands.

“I have returned!” he announced moments after he exited the kitchen. The gentle aroma of black tea followed him as made his way towards Celes.

“Hmhmhm.” Celes smiled at Yamada. “I am looking forward to tasting it.”

Fukawa looked rather annoyed at the scene before her. “You c-could’ve made some for the r-rest of us, you know…”

Yamada looked at Fukawa with disdain. “I emphatically decline! You’re not my type at all!”

“Guh!” Fukawa took a step back.

“Heh heh…” Yamada smirked. “It’s all about the laws of casualty, basic instinct, act and react! Don’t think I’ve forgotten about our little debate the other day!”

“Grr…” Fukawa scowled at Yamada.

Yamada smiled triumphantly as he held out the tray to Celes. Celes picked up the teacup off the tray and held it delicately in her hand.

“Well then, if you don’t mind…” A small smile played across Celes’s lips as she brought the teacup to her mouth. Though, after one small sip, Celes’s smile ceased. “…Wait.”

Celes cocked her head to the side…and then threw the teacup as hard as she could at the wall.

CRASH!

Celes’s sudden actions caught everyone by surprise, Yamada especially.

“Eeeehhh—?!” Yamada nearly dropped the tray in his hands from shock. “H-Hey! What are you doing, my little white rabbit?!”

Celes tilted her head to the side as she began twirling a lock of her black hair. “I cannot _stand_ milk tea of this kind!”

“Eh?” Yamada was rather confused with Celes’s response. “Um, I don’t really understand…”

“Imagine we are at a café—any café would do,” Celes began. “I sit down, and order a cup of tea. I am then asked by the servers if I want milk or lemon with my tea. When they do, I answer that I want milk tea.”

Yamada was following what Celes was saying, as was everyone else (though with question).

“In this case, along with my tea they may bring me a small container of milk, yes?” Celes continued. “But this is not for me! I am among those who prefer the milk to be part of the process from the outset! The fragrance is overwhelmingly sweet that way…Adding milk or lemon right before you drink reduces the decision to that of picking a condiment. Whenever looking for a café, I first review their menu to see if it offers the proper style of milk tea. I will only acknowledge royal milk tea, which is where milk is added during the brewing process.”

…

…

If Naegi were to describe the looks on everyone’s faces after listening to what Celes had just said, she would have to go with “wide-eyed bewilderment.”

Yamada was not amused. “Umm…I went to all that trouble to make you that tea…and this is what I get?!”

Celes diverted her eyes to the side. “Yes, I realize it can be a bit of a hassle…In a café that serves both milk tea and royal milk tea, the latter is always the more expensive. It takes more time to prepare, surely, but…why even bother creating a menu if you are not going to offer the highest level of quality?!”

“Well, um…we don’t actually have a menu…” A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Yamada’s face.

At that moment, Celes’s smile ceased and her expression turned quite nasty as she snapped at Yamada. “JUST HURRY THE FUCK UP AND GET ME MY TEA, SWINE!!”

“Ehhhhhhhhhh?!” Yamada shrieked. “O-Okay! Your little piggy will bring it right out!”

Yamada didn’t waste a second longer and immediately fled to the kitchen. Celes was quite pleased with the outcome of her actions.

“Heehee!” Celes smiled as she giggled. “Intimidation is sure useful.”

Seeing a new side to the Super High School Level Gambler that was the complete opposite of her usual demeanor was a rather unsettling shock for everyone else, especially in the manner it was revealed.

“You were like…a totally different person just now.” Asahina stared wide-eyed at Celes.

“Shit, man, that made me jump…” Oowada clenched his teeth.

“Hmhmhm…” Celes just laughed innocently.

Naegi knew there was more to Celes from the moment she first met the Gambler. _“I’d hate to have her as an enemy…”_

“S-Scary…” Fujisaki said quietly under her breath.

Naegi swallowed hard. “Y-Yeah…”

The dining hall doors suddenly flew open as Ishimaru came storming in. “Bad news, everyone! There is a mystery afoot!”

“Huh?” Hagakure blinked. “What happened?”

Ishimaru looked nervously at everyone. “It would seem that Togami-kun refuses to leave his room! I stood there pressing his doorbell over and over, but he never showed himself.”

Naegi thought for a moment. “Maybe he just…wasn’t there.”

“I’d like to think so,” Ishimaru remarked. “But I’m worried something might have happened to him.”

Ishimaru didn’t have to say anything else for everyone to understand what he had meant.

“I-It might be a good idea if we all split up and go look for him,” Naegi was quick to suggest. As much of a jerk as Togami had been towards her, Naegi still cared for him as a classmate…that, and Naegi wasn’t exactly in the mood to lose another classmate…at all. She was just done with death and despair.

“Ah! I was about to suggest the same thing!” Ishimaru crossed his arms.

“Stop trying to one-up e-everyone…” Fukawa complained.

Asahina ignored Fukawa and said, “I’ll check his room one more time. I’m just gonna keep on hammering that button till I get a response!”

Oogami nodded. “Very well, then the rest of us can go check the rest of the building.”

“Yeah…before it’s, y’know…too late,” Hagakure said as he scratched his head.

Naegi had a faint idea of where Togami’s whereabouts could be. After everyone went their separate ways to search for Togami, Naegi and Fujisaki quickly made their way to the second floor. Unbeknownst to them, Kirigiri had followed after them. She was quite calm and devoid of any urgency, as noted by her somewhat nonchalant pace.

When Naegi and Fujisaki made it to the second floor, the two immediately split up, with Fujisaki heading toward the classrooms and Naegi being stuck between checking the pool or the library. In the end, Naegi decided to check the library.

Naegi was nearly out of breath by the time she reached the library’s entrance. She inhaled deeply and then exhaled before opening the door. When she looked inside, Naegi cried out in sudden surprise.

“Togami-kun?!” she exclaimed.

Naegi was almost relieved, if a bit surprised, to find Togami simply reading a book in the library. A desk lamp on the table provided Togami with sufficient light to make up for the library’s poor lighting. Togami sat in a chair with on leg crossed over the other and set the mug he had finished taking a drink out of onto the table. Judging from the aroma wafting from the mug, Togami was drinking coffee.

Despite Naegi’s sudden outburst, Togami managed to keep his attention focused on the book he was reading. That didn’t mean he didn’t notice her, but at the current moment, he would have liked to forget that she was even there in the first place.

“Hey, uh…what are you doing?” Naegi found herself asking Togami.

“I’m fishing,” Togami replied sarcastically. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

Naegi sputtered, but gave no response.

“I’m trying to read,” Togami firmly said as he continued reading. “So if you could be quiet…”

“Oh…sorry.” Naegi bowed apologetically at Togami before exiting the library, making sure to close the door behind her.

Togami waited for a moment and let out a slightly annoyed sigh as he turned to the next page. Though, just as he started reading, Naegi barged through the library door quite noisily and ran up to him.

“Wait, no—!” Naegi cried out. She looked sternly at Togami. “What are you doing here?! Everyone’s super worried! We’ve all been looking for you!”

Ignoring Naegi was something Togami was finding to be increasingly difficult as of lately. She was just too damn intrusive for her own good…much like Kirigiri, except Togami still couldn’t understand Naegi.

“Who asked you to do that?” Togami asked without looking up from his book.

“B-Because…we’re all supposed to meet up in the morning and eat together,” Naegi replied. “We made a promise!”

Togami was almost tempted to look at Naegi, if only to see her current expression. “A promise…?”

Togami always kept his promises, unless otherwise…but he hadn’t made any as of lately, so he had no idea what Naegi was even talking about. He just wanted to read in peace, but Naegi was making that difficult. The fact that it was taking all of Togami’s willpower to even force himself to continue reading his book wasn’t helping. At this point, reading was no longer seemed to be a viable option for Togami.

“Can’t I get a second’s peace and quiet around here?” Togami let out an aggravated sigh and snapped his book shut. Slowly, he stood up and quickly found himself looking down at Naegi. It wasn’t exactly a difficult thing to do, with how short Naegi was and how tall he was. Togami was almost amused by the fact that Naegi wasn’t intimidated by him, when in any other given situation she would have taken a step back. _“Interesting…”_

By now, the others started showing up one after another, having heard Naegi’s outburst. Since the discovery of Maizono’s corpse, everyone had become rather sensitive to Naegi’s voice. Fujisaki was the first to have arrive, immediately asking if Naegi was okay before Kirigiri entered the room. Kirigiri narrowed her eyes at Togami, having noticed the look in his eye. He was looking down at Naegi again…

_“And he wonders why he can’t understand her…”_ Kirigiri sighed as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Togami-kun! So you were here all this time!” Ishimaru was as loud as ever.

“The heck are you doin’ here, man?” Hagakure was rather relieved, if a tad bit annoyed with Togami.

“We were very concerned…” Oogami said firmly.

Togami huffed. “Well you had no reason to be. I was just reading when Naegi decided to rudely disrupt me.”

Naegi narrowed her eyes at Togami. “Hmm…”

“I’ve never read such a…coarse novel before, but it might just prove useful at some point.” It still didn’t make the reading any less painful for Togami.

“Wh-What were you reading?” Asahina couldn’t help but ask.

“A mystery novel,” Togami replied as he set the book on the table.

Yamada looked nervously at Togami. “W-Wait, so are you gonna use what you’re learning in there to betray us?!”

Togami scoffed. “Don’t be stupid.”

Naegi nodded her head and smiled. “Yeah!”

“It’s just something to keep in mind,” Togami added a moment later.

“Yea—what?” Togami’s sudden comment caught Naegi by surprise. She had not been expecting that.

“If I decide to fight, of course I’ll come up with something original,” Togami stated boldly. “Otherwise, this game of ours will be totally boring, right? It’s not often you get to take part in such a high-stakes, high-tension activity. So if you’re going to do it, you have to make sure it’s entertaining. Heheheh…”

Togami’s words sent a shiver down Naegi’s spine. She stared at him with wide-eyes, very much unsettled by the fact that Togami was actually smiling. He looked as if he was enjoying the school life of mutual killing that everyone had been forced to participate in. Naegi found herself backing away from Togami at this point.

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘game’?!” Oowada scowled at Togami. “That’s fucked up!”

“But it _is_ a game,” Togami asserted. “It’s a game of life or death, which can only have one winner. That’s all there is to it.”

“He’s right,” Celes agreed. “It’s a zero-sum game.”

“Eh?” Naegi blinked.

“It is part of a game theory, a mathematical model,” Celes explained. “In game theory, what we are going through now is called a ‘zero-sum game.’ In this type of game, in order for one person to gain something, another must necessarily lose something. In other words, it is a situation in which participants must compete for position or resources.”

“You mean like…a kind of elimination match.” Oogami understood the gist of it.

Celes nodded her head. “Entrance exams, sports tournaments, job openings—most social interactions fall into this category. Everyone must scramble to obtain something which is limited. For you to succeed, someone else must fail. This also applies to the school life we have been subjected to here. In this case…” Celes’s expression darkened. “…our ‘limited resource’ is that only one of us can successfully become the blackened.”

“So, this game was designed from the beginning to force one of us to try and defeat all the others.” Togami was looking in Naegi’s direction when he said this. He could tell she was still in denial.

“Th-That…that can’t be what they had in mind!” Naegi’s outburst only confirmed that.

Celes giggled behind her hand. “This is why adaptation is so crucial. If those who want to escape were to disappear, there would be no reason to continue playing the game.”

“But why would I want to stop playing? It’s so much fun…” As Togami said this, he laughed again. His face contorted into a devilish grin.

…

…

“It sounds as if you do not acknowledge even the possibility that you may lose, am I right?” Celes looked at Togami.

Togami smirked. “Of course.”

“You do not speak like the others.” Celes giggled behind her hand. “Exactly what I would expect from the Togami heir apparent.”

Hagakure just sighed in exasperation. “…It’s just normal arrogance, isn’t it?”

Whatever it was, Asahina was mad. “You talk like that, but what if you end up dead?!”

“I won’t,” Togami said simply. “It simply isn’t possible.”

Oowada’s face turned red from anger as he started cracking his knuckles. “Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

Togami just stared at Oowada as he crossed his arms. “You know, I still just can’t believe it…”

“Believe what?!” Oowada gritted his teeth.

“That an uneducated, brain-dead, useless piece of garbage like you has survived this long.” From the way Togami was looking at Oowada, there was no doubt that he was looking down at the Super High School Level Biker.

Oowada was pissed. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you!”

“Like I said, I won’t die.” Togami smirked.

Hagakure let out a frustrated sigh. “You keep saying that, but—”

“Don’t bother arguing with him.” Celes began twirling a lock of her hair again. “For him, the concept of losing simply does not exist. He is the Super High School Level Heir, after all—a boy raised to succeed from the day he was born. He considers victory his destiny, and has lived his life accordingly. Tests and challenges are merely ways for him to stand victorious. Even if it is a life-and-death situation…is that not so?”

For once, Togami was actually pleased to hear such a response from one of his classmates. “At least one of you seems to understand.”

“It is because I am the same as you.” Celes smiled at Togami. “Games are meant to be won.”

“Are you trying to suggest that we’re on the same level?” Togami was almost insulted. “Close that vulgar mouth of yours.”

Celes was taken aback. “Well, well, I do apologize.”

Togami huffed as he turned his attention on everyone else. “Anyway, let me just say this to all of you. You all need to try harder. If an opponent isn’t going to give it their best, where’s the fun for me?”

“Th-That’s a terrible way to look at it…” Tears welded up in the corners of Fujisaki’s eyes.

“Hmm?” Togami narrowed his eyes at Fujisaki. “You again…”

Fujisaki tightened her fists. “This…this isn’t a game… Our lives are on the line, you know…To kill your own friends is…is…It’s horrific!”

Togami arched his brow at Fujisaki upon hearing the sudden force in her voice. That…was definitely new. Of course, he could tell that it took all of Fujisaki’s courage to even speak up to him like that from how badly her body was trembling. Despite that, he was almost impressed with her courage… _almost_.

“Friends?” Togami repeated. “Who decided that?”

“…Huh?!” Fujisaki’s eyes widened. “Ah…I…I—”

“We’re not friends,” Togami interrupted Fujisaki. “No, quite the opposite. We’re in a competition—we’re enemies.”

“B-But…you know…” Fujisaki barely managed to choke back a sob as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

“But _what_?” Togami’s tone was harsh. “Stop trying to force your contradictions on me and just accept what I’m telling you.”

“U-Um…” Fujisaki struggled to find her voice. “Uh…”

“Yes?” Togami looked sternly at Fujisaki. “If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, keep your mouth closed.”

“…” Fujisaki sniffed. “I-I’m sorry…”

“Hey, shithead!” Oowada was _very_ pissed off with how Togami was treating Fujisaki. “You get off on bullying people that can’t fight back? You wanna try that on me?!”

“You say that, but isn’t what you did to Naegi on the very first day?” Togami remarked. “Or did she get that bruise when she fell out of her bed this morning?”

“H-Huh?! Hey!” Naegi just couldn’t get a break…

“B-Bastard…” Oowada gritted his teeth upon recalling that he did in fact punch Naegi on day one. He still felt bad about it, even more so because he had _yet_ to apologize to Naegi. Though, the fact that Togami, of all people, was the one to have mentioned the bruise on Naegi’s face just pissed him off.

“Am I wrong?” Togami questioned. “Or are you back to pretending to be friends? How long do you think that’s going to last?”

“Fuck you!” Oowada spat.

“Is that all you can say?” Togami was growing tired of talking to Oowada. “It’s unfortunate you would waste your breath on such empty gibberish.”

At that moment, something snapped within Oowada. “That’s it! You’re fuckin’ dead!”

Oowada charged at Togami in an attempt to punch him, but Ishimaru ended up getting in his way purposely. Ishimaru was not going to allow two of his classmates to fight each other…not on _his_ watch.

“Stop it!” Ishimaru exclaimed as he tried to hold Oowada back. Try as he could, Oowada was just much stronger than he was.

“Piss off!” Oowada threw Ishimaru onto the floor.

“Hey, calm down!” Asahina yelled.

Oowada gritted his teeth, but managed to keep himself from actually hurting Togami. “I _am_ calm…”

“You sure don’t seem like it…” Asahina looked sternly at Oowada.

“Anyway…I don’t have any intention of working with the rest of you any longer.” Togami no longer had any reason to stay in the library. “To cooperate during an elimination game is…Well, frankly, it’s a waste of time. And I hate wasting my time.”

“Waste of time…?” Naegi couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Engaging in ‘friendly’ group meals is out of the question,” Togami continued. “Someone could easily poison our food. And I’d rather not become part of the Last Supper just yet.”

“Quick talking like you’re in a fuckin’ movie or something!” Oowada snapped.

Togami ignored Oowada as he started making his way out of the library. “All I’m saying is that, ultimately, you are all free to do whatever you want on your own. Goodbye.”

Without a second glance back, Togami left the library. There wasn’t anything anyone could do to keep him from leaving. If it wasn’t obvious before, then it was now that Togami’s way of thinking was beyond anything the rest of them could even comprehend.

…

…

“Was he serious about all that…?” Hagakure couldn’t help but ask.

“He was, without a doubt,” Celes replied as she twirled a lock of her hair.

“Well, fuck him then.” Oowada was just done with Togami for the rest of the day…

“B-But what he said…” Fukawa began. “He might not n-necessarily be wrong…I mean, can you s-say for sure someone _won’t_ poison our f-food?”

“Geez, not you too, Fukawa-chan!” Asahina frowned.

“Well, it’s n-not like anyone would care even if I w-was gone, right…?” Fukawa clenched her teeth as she looked at her classmates. “Actually, I bet you all _want_ me gone! You all think I’m d-disgusting!”

Naegi looked concerned at Fukawa. “None of us think that…”

Fukawa was about ready to deny Naegi’s claims, but upon making direct eye contact with her…Fukawa realized that Naegi meant what she said. “Ah…aaaah…Your kindness—i-it still…it still _buuuuuuuurns_! Hyeeeeeeeehhh!”

Despite Naegi having meant what she said, Fukawa still had a long way to go before she could even handle being around Naegi during moments such as these. For that reason alone, Fukawa fled from the library, leaving her classmates rather stunned.

“Th-That’s a new reaction…” Hagakure remarked.

Celes nodded. “Indeed.”

Asahina blinked and turned to Naegi. She thought for a moment and then smiled. “Maybe it’s because Fukawa-chan made a friend!”

It took everyone, even Kirigiri herself, a few seconds to realize whom Asahina had been referring to. Upon figuring it out, all attention was now on Naegi.

“Uh…” A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “D-Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Naegi-kun, you’re fine,” Kirigiri reassured. “You’re fine…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’M STILL ALIVE! THOUGH BARELY BECAUSE I’M BACK TO SCHOOL AND COLLEGE IS STILL FUCKING EXPENSIVE! Of course, I got leftover grant and financial aid money back, but the fact that I HAVE to buy a fucking book for an access code to do my own homework is just…uurgh, college. By the way, I’m gonna be busy these next ten weeks and I cannot afford to slack off on ANY of my classes. I’m regretting taking French and Sociology within the same quarter…D:  
> Ahem, in any case, THIS CHAPTER…THIS FUCKING CHAPTER…took me SO LONG to write, I just…can’t even…I’m happy I got it done. On a side note, I got Super Dangan Ronpa 2 and let me just say…Johnny Yong Bosch makes the CUTEST Hajime Hinata.  
> Aside from that, I can at least confirm that free time will be the main focus for the next few chapters (and them some in the form of original events, like POOL) now that I got this freaking story-related event out of the way.  
> By the way, I find it amusing that a number of my Fanfiction.net readers seem to keep assuming I'm male or are surprised that I'm female when I say I'm female. One of my readers thought I was a very effeminate male until they read one of my friend's post on tumblr and found out that I was actually female. That was definitely a first, to be honest...must be the name.  
> So yeah, free time event next chapter and happy-fun-times. I have a mighty need for happy-fun-times after starting Super Dangan Ronpa 2 again (with the English dub) and just…I need some way to cope with the feels…and potential stress from college.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I have absolutely no idea when the next one will be up as I just said, I’m gonna be busy this time around and just…eeeugh, I am DEFINITELY gonna make sure Winter quarter has classes that I can actually slack off in…So until next time, guys!


	7. Apology

Naegi had just wanted to figure out her current issue that was her having worn the same outfit for almost seven days straight. The fact that she hadn’t washed them since the very first day she arrived at Hope’s Peak Academy was starting to gross her out. Unlike everyone else, the drawers in Naegi’s room were completely empty when she had checked them during the first day, so that left Naegi being the only one of her classmates without a change of clothes.

Luckily, with the warehouse being accessible to everyone, Naegi _now_ had a change of clothes, so that was one problem solved. So the next thing Naegi decided to do was check if there was an open washing machine in the laundry room for her to wash her clothes in. Upon finding that there was in fact an open washing machine for her to use, Naegi was about ready to make her way back to her room to change out of her clothes so she could wash them. Then she looked up at the clothes hanging from the clothesline and noticed that no one had yet to claim the swimsuit that had been hanging there for the past week.

_“I’m surprised Yamada-kun hasn’t stolen it yet…”_ Naegi couldn’t help but think as she stared at the swimsuit. Though, the longer she stared at it, the more Naegi felt that there was something off about the swimsuit. About a full minute later, Naegi’s eyes widened. “Wait a sec—that’s _my_ swimsuit!”

“Upupupu…took you long enough, Naegi-kun.” Monokuma was definitely amused by Naegi’s reaction.

Naegi immediately turned to Monokuma and scowled at him. “ _You_! Where did you even— _why_ is it here?!”

“Well, how would you react to only finding a school swimsuit in your drawers?” Monokuma rubbed the back of his head as his face flushed. “Don’t want you getting the wrong idea about me, y’know…”

Naegi just glared at Monokuma. “Too late…”

“Ah, Naegi-kun can be so cruel~!” Monokuma remarked. “Say…aren’t you gonna take what’s yours? Or do you like letting your school swimsuit hang out in the open like this?”

…

…

From time to time, Oowada used the laundry room as a hiding spot as it was usually empty. It was also the last place Ishimaru would ever check for Oowada, allowing him some peace and quiet before the Super High School Level Moral Compass got on his case. Due to what had happened earlier in the library, Oowada knew that Ishimaru wasn’t going to let him go so easily…so the instant he had managed to shake Ishimaru off his tracks, Oowada fled to the laundry room.

Of course, when Oowada entered the room, he was surprised to find that Naegi was there. Surprise quickly turned into confusion as Oowada couldn’t help but question why Naegi was standing on top of a chair. It took him a moment to realize that Naegi was struggling to reach for the blue swimsuit hanging on the clothesline. At that point, Oowada stopped standing about and walked over to Naegi.

…

Naegi had been too busy struggling to reach for her school swimsuit to notice that Oowada had entered the room. She hadn’t even noticed that Monokuma had left minutes ago, having grown bored of watching Naegi struggle. Even when Oowada was standing right behind her, Naegi still hadn’t noticed…until Oowada grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up in an attempt to give her a boost. Had Naegi not immediately looked down when that happened, she would have shrieked.

“O-Oowada-kun!” Naegi exclaimed. “Wh-What are you…?”

“You looked like you needed some help,” Oowada replied.

“Y-Yeah…thank you,” Naegi said before grabbing her swimsuit and pulling it off the clothesline.

Oowada arched his brow at the swimsuit in Naegi’s hand. “That yours?”

Naegi’s face turned red. “Ah…yes…you can put me down now.”

Oowada nodded and set Naegi down on the chair. Naegi then promptly hopped off the chair and sighed in relief.

_“This could have been worse…”_ Naegi was just glad it was over, though now she had to deal with Oowada, who was staring at her face for some reason. “Yes?”

Oowada diverted his eyes to the side as he rubbed the back of his head. “So…uh…what’s your ride?”

Naegi blinked. “Eh…? What do you mean by ‘ride’?”

“A motorcycle, obviously!” Oowada was quick to respond.

“Oh, uh…I don’t ride any of them…” Naegi said sheepishly.

“Huh?! You’re saying you’ve never rode one?!” Oowada was stunned. “It’s not as if you’re too young…Didn’t actually think you were as dull as you look…”

Naegi visibly winced upon hearing that. She knew she wasn’t anyone special, but to hear it the way Oowada worded it…it _hurt_. “U-Um…I’m sorry…”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Oowada’s face as he looked nervously at Naegi. “Sorry, that was uncalled for…”

“But you’re not wrong,” Naegi said. “I’m as average as can be—even my own friends and family tell me that!” Naegi had long since came to terms with her average self, which pretty much cemented her averageness. Of course, it had been a week since she had last seen any of her friends and she had no idea how her family was doing… _“Ah…I never noticed how much I actually missed being called average by them…”_

“Oi, oi…” Oowada didn’t really like the response Naegi had given him. “Just because you’re average doesn’t mean you’re dull.”

“Really?” Naegi looked questioningly at Oowada.

“Yeah…” Oowada felt his face heat up as he said this. “Fuck, I’m not good at this shit… Look, just don’t think too badly about yourself. I hate it when girls look sad…”

Naegi blinked and smiled. “Okay! Thank you…”

“No problem…” Oowada furrowed his brow when he saw the bruise on Naegi’s face. He had been meaning to apologize. Instead of apologizing, he ended up going off a tangent by asking Naegi if she had a motorcycle, which she didn’t, and then he ended up insulting her. Oowada felt a little frustrated with how he was even acting around her. He just couldn’t get over the fact that he punched a girl. “So, Naegi…you’ve never rode a motorcycle, huh?”

“Yeah…” Naegi nodded.

“Alright, then lemme educate ya!” Oowada knew he was going to have to apologize eventually, but every time he tried, he just kept getting off topic…like he was doing at the moment. “A real man rides Kawasaki, okay? That’s what I ride.”

“Kawasaki,” Naegi repeated.

Oowada grinned widely. “You oughta see it, man. The v-twin’s got that monster power, it’s like you’re dancin’! Course, it ain’t for just anyone. You gotta have the skill to handle it!”

“You must really love your motorcycle…” Naegi remarked.

“Hell yeah I do!” Oowada exclaimed. “I’m a goddamn biker, ain’t I? We’re crazy as hell!”

Naegi nodded. “Yeah, you’re the leader of the biggest biker gang in Japan, right?”

“Yeah!!” Oowada was rather pleased that Naegi knew that. “I’m the second leader of the invincible Crazy Diamonds! You wanna come on a ride with us? The monster sound comin’ outta that straight pipe… Hot damn!”

“Straight pipe…?” Naegi repeated.

Oowada stared at Naegi for a moment. “Come on, you gotta know what a straight pipe is, right?”

Naegi thought for a moment. “It’s…when the motorcycle doesn’t have a muffler, right?”

“So you _did_ know.” Oowada grinned. “Good! Then that’s that! Next time we ride, you ride with us!”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “O-Okay.”

…

…

“Man, this just makes me think back to when I first started riding,” Oowada said as he rubbed the back of his head. “My big bro used to ride too, ya know. His name’s Daiya. Daiya and Mondo—together we were the Diamond Brothers! Everyone up and down the country knew us! Course, I was always the cool one…”

“I didn’t know you have a brother.” Naegi smiled. “I have a little sister name Komaru!”

“Ah, so that’s who Komaru-chan was…” Oowada recalled hearing Naegi mentioned her little sister’s name when she was crying after Kuwata’s execution. Of course, Oowada didn’t exactly know who Komaru was until now… “So you’re a big sis, huh?”

“Yeah, although I don’t exactly look like it when we’re standing next to each other, ehehe…” Naegi laughed awkwardly. “What about you?”

“Me?” Oowada blinked. “Nah, I don’t have that problem. ‘Course, most of the guys already knew I was Daiya’s little brother from the get-go. If they didn’t then, they did after my debut ride… Man, the first time I went out, I ended up at the back of the pack. Eventually the cops got on us, and they surrounded me. I was in some tough shit, man! So I pulled over, but when they came up to me… Well, let’s just say it was a massacre.”

“A massacre…” Naegi was amazed. “You sure are strong, aren’t you, Oowada-kun?”

“Of course I am!” Oowada exclaimed. “What, you thought I ride while waving a white flag?! In a fight, they’ll go for the leader first. Kill the leader of the pack, ya know? That’s why the other gangs come after me. I mean, a gang is only as strong as its leader…You’ll see what I mean when we go on our first ride. Get ready for it!”

“Actually…maybe it’s better if I don’t get involved in that kinda thing.” Naegi did _not_ want to get herself involved with a biker gang. “And like I said, I don’t have a motorcycle. I don’t even know how to drive one, because I’m not old enough!”

“Oh…you still fifteen, huh?” Oowada asked.

Naegi nodded. “Yeah…”

“Huh…” Oowada didn’t know that.

…

“Then you can ride with me!” Oowada grinned widely at Naegi. “I’m also fifteen too, ya know.”

Naegi blinked. “H-Huh?”

“Daiya got me my motorcycle!” Oowada explained. “Being the younger brother has its perks sometimes.”

“I-I see…” Naegi wouldn’t know that because she was an older sister. Of course, now she was feeling rather anxious because if she rode with Oowada, the other gangs would target him first. “I think I’ll pa—”

“I’m looking forward to it!” Oowada’s grin only seemed to widen. “Can’t wait to show you to the guys when we get outta here! I’ll make sure they go easy on you.”

“You’re not trying to recruit me, are you…?” Naegi looked nervously at Oowada.

Oowada thought for a moment. “Huh…it’d be nice to have a girl around, since there aren’t really any girls in the Crazy Diamonds—they like to stick together in their own gangs, ya know?”

“Uh-huh…” Naegi didn’t like where her conversation with Oowada was heading. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m cut out for it—ack!”

“Don’t worry about it!” Oowada said as he patted Naegi on the back, albeit a bit roughly. “I’m sure some of the guys can teach you a few tricks! Hell, maybe I can teach you something while we’re here!”

“Hmmm…” Naegi bit her lip. This was bad…really bad… _“Even if I get out of here, I might still be in real trouble…”_

“Oi…what’s with that face?” Oowada suddenly asked. He had noticed how anxious Naegi was starting to look. Though, as he was looking at Naegi’s face, the bruise on her left cheek caught his eye. He realized that he still hadn’t apologized and, at this point, he decided he was done getting off topic. “Speaking of your face…”

“Wh-What—is there something on my face?” Naegi’s hands went to her face.

Oowada nodded. “Yeah…that bruise—the one I gave ya.”

“Oh, that…what about it?” Naegi asked.

“I want to apologize,” Oowada replied. “Sorry I punched you…”

Naegi blinked and shook her head. “N-No, it’s fine! You don’t have to apologize!”

“Naegi, I _hurt_ you…” Oowada asserted. “And you know how I feel about men who hurt women…I’m no better than them after what I’ve done to you.”

“But you didn’t know at the time!” Naegi insisted. “And besides, it was an accident!”

“Accident or not, I _still_ have to apologize!” Oowada scowled. “J-Just accept the fucking apology, okay? I’ve been trying to apologize to you for a while, but I kept getting off topic.”

“Is that why you started talking about motorcycles?” Naegi questioned.

Oowada rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah…though, I did mean what I said about that. Seriously, get ready.”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. _“Crap…”_

“Sometimes you really worry me…” Oowada sighed. “You’re so passive, like it’d be easy for someone to take advantage of you and that just makes me worry even more about you.”

“H-Hey…” Naegi frowned.

“Just look at what Maizono almost did to ya.” Oowada needed to make a point. “She used you. If you’re not careful, someone else could do the same thing to you.”

“…” Naegi bit her lip.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt again…” Oowada had no intention of seeing Naegi cry again because someone hurt her. He would make sure of that… “You don’t deserve it.”

“Ah,” was all Naegi could say.

Oowada looked at Naegi and sighed before ruffling her hair. “Look, just try to take care of yourself, alright? If anything’s bugging you, come to me. I’ll help ya out.”

Naegi looked at Oowada and nodded. “Got it…you know, you’re really nice, Oowada-kun.”

A light blush tinged Oowada’s cheeks as he turned his head away from Naegi. “If that’s what you think…then yeah. Say, why are you even in the laundry room? Aside from the swimsuit, I mean?”

“Well, I was just checking if there was an open washing machine so I could wash my clothes,” Naegi replied. “With the warehouse being open, I finally have some clothes to change into in the meantime.”

“That’s right—you were the only one without clothes in your drawers.” Oowada had recalled the confusion on Naegi’s face when she had heard about the clothes in everyone else’s drawers. “Though, what about the swimsuit?”

Naegi made a face. “Monokuma hung it up on the clothesline because he didn’t want me to get the wrong idea about finding only my school swimsuit in the drawers. Of course, that doesn’t really change the fact that he _only_ had my school swimsuit.”

“Yeah, I see your point.” Oowada rubbed the back of his head. “Though, you could probably say the same thing about the clothes in our drawers and in the warehouse.”

Naegi tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Well, don’t you think it’s weird that the clothes in the warehouse either fit one of us or someone else?” Oowada had noticed that when he was taking a look through the available clothing. “And the clothes in our drawers are actually _our_ clothes.”

…

“Yeah, that _is_ weird…but why is a swimsuit all I have that’s actually mine?” Naegi frowned. “I mean, of all the things it could have been.”

“Well, at least it ain’t your underwear,” Oowada remarked.

Naegi’s face heated up. “I think I would have preferred that over having to pick out from the bunch in the warehouse.”

…

…

“ _Oh_.”

“Yeah…”

Oowada felt rather awkward seeing Naegi blush furiously, especially since she just finished talking about grabbing the underwear that was available in the warehouse. Considering that Yamada actually made a huge outburst over it, to which Oogami and Oowada himself had to have a rather serious talk with him… Oowada could understand why Naegi was embarrassed.

“So…what are you gonna do now?” Oowada felt like changing the subject.

“I think I’m gonna go change out of these clothes so I can wash them,” Naegi replied. “I’ve been meaning to do that until this happened—not that I don’t mind. I actually had a good time talking to you.”

“Really?” Oowada’s eyes widened.

“Yeah!” Naegi smiled. “Hey…do you think we could, ah…hang out later? Or maybe tomorrow if not today…?”

Oowada blinked. “You wanna…hang out with me?”

Naegi nodded. “Yeah…unless, you don’t want to—?”

Oowada shook his head. “It’s not that, just…why me? Why’d you wanna spend time with a guy like me?”

“Is there a problem with that?” Naegi tilted her head to the side.

“No, it’s just…never mind.” Oowada had a feeling that Naegi was just going to keep on asking him questions. He was just wondering why Naegi would want to spend time with a guy like him and not a girl like Asahina. Oowada wasn’t exactly good at talking with girls, but Naegi…Naegi was different.

Maybe it was because Oowada initially thought Naegi was male or…maybe it was because Naegi was the first girl who treated him differently. Most girls ran away from Oowada or just avoided him, but Naegi gave him a chance. Naegi…thought he was nice.

“I wanted to spend some time with Fukawa-san, but she ran off…” Naegi remarked. “I think I’ll try talking to her later…so what about you?”

Oowada thought for a moment and sighed. “Sure…how about tomorrow?”

“Okay!” Naegi smiled. “I guess I’ll see you around!”

Oowada nodded. “Yeah…take care of yourself, okay?”

“I will!” Naegi nodded. “Thanks, Oowada-kun!”

Naegi made her way out of the laundry room after that. Oowada watched her leave, his thoughts completely focused on what she had told him. He scowled when he felt his face heat up and decided to go back to his own room. Ishimaru hadn’t found him yet and, at this point, Oowada wanted to keep it at that. He’d rather take his chances with Ishimaru jamming on his doorbell.

_“The hell is wrong with me…”_ Oowada couldn’t help but think.

Sometimes, Oowada felt it was a lot easier for him back when he thought Naegi was male. If only because Naegi was making him feel this way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT ANOTHER CHAPTER I’M ON A ROLL! YEAAAH! By the way, I had to spend like nearly $300 on fucking books…two of them were rented, and I had to buy a $222 pack for my French class. I am feeling remorse over my loss of money over books. Seriously, college is fucking expensive. God damn, I miss being a high-schooler…  
> Anyways, you got free time with Oowada! People have been asking for him and there you go. Now I’m debating between Ishimaru and Fujisaki for the next free time event…and maybe Fukawa. I’m starting to grow fond of working with her character. So take yer pick, readers!  
> Let me talk about Oowada for a bit…When it comes to him, he’s an interesting character to work with. He’s a character who would definitely act differently around Naegi for being female, if only because of the way he is. Oowada just doesn’t like hitting girls and even though he didn’t know Naegi was female at the time, he still feels bad about it. Personally, I’d think he’d still apologize to Naegi, regardless of sex, just…he’d make a bigger deal out of it if Naegi was female. Again, Oowada just does not like hurting girls.  
> I’m actually curious for what he did whenever any girls went after him, because there are female bousouzoku. And I’m just not too sure if there’d be any in Oowada’s gang, since many female delinquents like to stick together, unless otherwise. I dunno, yankii/yankee are more of my forte than bousouzoku when it comes to Japanese delinquents.  
> In any case, this is the start of much more free time to come and Monokuma makes a physical appearance yet again! Yeah, I just can’t give Naegi a break…especially when it comes to the fact that she literally had to pick out her underwear in the warehouse. Also, dat school swimsuit…that is all.  
> If you want a say in what Naegi is gonna change into, you could put in a suggestion. I’m thinking somewhere along the lines of a skirt…something cute. Maybe a dress would be lovely, what say you, readers?  
> And if you’re wondering about what Naegi meant about being too young to drive a motorcycle, in Japan, you have to be sixteen to get your motorcycle license. With the way Oowada works, I’m pretty sure his older brother hooked him up with a motorcycle of his own. Again, I’m not too familiar with bousouzoku, so I’m pretty much doing that part on a whim.  
> That’s about it for now, so I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I sure did, so until next time!


	8. Dress

“…”

“…”

…

“You look cute, Naegi-chi.”

“Hagakure-kun!”

Hagakure rubbed the back of his head as Naegi stared at him. She was blushing rather furiously, somewhat annoyed, but mostly embarrassed about what Hagakure had just told her. Naegi was no longer wearing her usual outfit, as said outfit was currently inside a washing machine. Instead, she was wearing a white sundress with a green ribbon tied around her waist.

The two of them had just finished running into each other in the laundry room, both of them having intended on washing some clothes. Hagakure had been pretty quiet up until the moment he had decided to tell Naegi that she looked cute, because she did except…the way she tied the ribbon around her waist was off. It was a little too messy and while Naegi didn’t seem to mind, it was bothering Hagakure.

“Hey, Naegi-chi…” Hagakure said. “Can you turn around?”

Naegi blinked. “Why?”

“J-Just turn around…I need to fix something.” Naegi’s messy ribbon was really bothering Hagakure. “Your ribbon’s bugging me…”

…

…

When Hagakure finished fixing Naegi’s ribbon, she was surprised to see that he had tied it into a neat bow. Coming from someone like Hagakure, it was almost…funny, but Naegi appreciated the gesture.

“Thank you, Hagakure-kun,” Naegi said as she smiled at Hagakure.

“Not done yet,” Hagakure said as he placed his hand on top of Naegi’s head. “Let’s see if we can get that ahoge to stay down.”

Naegi blinked and closed her eyes when Hagakure started to smooth down her hair in an attempt to flatten her ahoge. He made sure to watch out for the bunny hairclip in her hair as he did this. After about a minute, Hagakure was successfully able to flatten Naegi’s hair, ahoge included.

“There we go!” Hagakure grinned.

Naegi blinked again and about three seconds later, her ahoge popped up again. Hagakure sighed and tried to flatten it out again, only to get the same results. After the third time, Hagakure kept his hand in place. He kept it there for a full two minutes before slowly removing his hand. Three seconds passed and Naegi’s hair was still flattened. Then ten seconds passed and it still stayed flattened down…

Hagakure smiled. “I guess third time’s the charm, then—oh _come_ on!”

After a total of thirty seconds, Naegi’s ahoge popped up once more. Hagakure stared at Naegi’s ahoge for a minute before sighing and shaking his head.

“Do you want me to make you a sandwich or something?” Hagakure asked as he rubbed the back of his head. “I mean, if you’re hungry or anything…”

“Sure!” Naegi replied. “And if it makes you feel any better, no matter what I do, my ahoge never stays down for too long.”

Hagakure chuckled. “I kinda figured…sorry about giving you any trouble.”

“It’s okay!” Naegi was completely fine with it. “Thanks for trying, though!”

…

…

Sometime later, after Naegi had finished eating with Hagakure in the dining hall, she left to go find Fukawa, who was still in her room. Of course, Fukawa refused to leave her room when Naegi asked her if she wanted hang out, so Naegi decided to go look for Fujisaki. While looking for Fujisaki, Naegi ran into Oogami and Asahina in the hallway just outside the entrance to the main hall. The two were quite surprised to see Naegi wearing a dress.

After about seven days of seeing Naegi wearing the same clothes, seeing her wear something else was quite a slap in the face in some ways, mostly when it pertained to Naegi’s choice in clothing. A sundress was the last thing anyone would have expected Naegi to wear, but for Asahina, she was absolutely thrilled at how adorable Naegi looked and ended up taking a moment to adjust the bunny hairclip that Naegi had in her hair. Oogami was just stunned that Naegi wasn’t wearing her hoodie. And Naegi was starting to wonder if she made the right choice for an outfit she was only wearing temporarily until her clothes had been washed and dried.

It wasn’t that Naegi was uncomfortable wearing a dress (far from it). She was just uncomfortable with the attention she was getting, even if the attention had been mostly positive. Of course, then Naegi remembered the reason she was wearing the dress and that was so she could wear the bunny hairclip Enoshima had given to her. And the reason she decided to wear the dress was because she _really_ wanted to wear a dress. At this point, Naegi decided that what she wanted was more important than how she felt. She wanted to wear the dress, and god damn it, she would wear it.

“Why are you wearing your sneakers with that?” Asahina asked. “Not that it’s bad or anything, but I’m sure there were cuter shoes in the warehouse that could go with the dress.”

Naegi blinked and looked down at her feet. She was still wearing her red sneakers…but Naegi didn’t care. They were really comfortable and, at the moment, Naegi wasn’t in the mood to break in a new pair of shoes. “I’m more comfortable this way…I just don’t wanna break in a new pair of shoes…”

“I see…” Asahina nodded. “Well, at least you’re comfortable. That’s a good thing!”

“Where did you obtain that particular hairclip?” Oogami had been eyeing the hairclip for some time now.

“Umm…Enoshima-san gave it to me,” Naegi replied. “It’s all I really have of her, besides my nails…but I’m not sure how long they’ll last.”

…

“You must really miss her, huh?” Asahina never knew how close Naegi and Enoshima were.

Naegi and Maizono were often seen together, but whenever Naegi wasn’t with Maizono, Naegi could usually be seen being dragged off somewhere by Enoshima. While Maizono was a touchy subject within itself when it concerned Naegi, Enoshima was still a mystery. Though, it was safe to say, from the way Naegi seemed to care about the hairclip Enoshima had given her, Naegi and Enoshima had been close.

“I just can’t believe she’s gone…” Naegi had been close to Maizono, but she had also been close to Enoshima. “Even though she usually used me as her cure for boredom…I didn’t mind. I had fun hanging out with her. She was nice…”

“What are you going to do now?” Oogami asked.

Naegi blinked. “I’m gonna look for Fujisaki-san…have you seen her?”

“We just passed by her on our way down here to the first floor,” Asahina replied. “So she should still be on the second floor.”

“Oh! Okay!” Naegi smiled. “Thank you! I’m gonna go now, so I’ll see you two around.”

After a quick goodbye, Naegi went on her separate way, leaving Asahina and Oogami as she made her way to the second floor. The second floor was quite deserted, as mostly everyone preferred to stay on the first floor, what with Togami practically claiming the library as his own and Oogami and Asahina being the only two who found use of the second floor gym. Naegi could only wonder why Fujisaki was on the second floor. There wasn’t really much for Fujisaki to do as she was still wary of the locker rooms and Naegi doubted that Fujisaki would want another encounter with Togami after what had happened earlier.

Despite this, Naegi still made sure to check everywhere for Fujisaki, from Classroom 2-A, to the girls’ restroom, to even the girls’ locker room and pool. Upon leaving Classroom 2-B, Naegi quickly found herself standing face-to-face with Togami.

“U-Um…!” A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face as she looked up at Togami.

Togami arched his brow as he looked over Naegi. He had just left the library with the intention of making his way to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. Of course, seconds after leaving the library, Togami had caught glimpse of a figure in white at the end of the hallway near Classroom 2-B. Normally, Togami would have dismissed such a sight, but his curiosity got the better of him. And now here he was, staring down at Naegi, who was currently wearing a white sundress…with red sneakers. How…quaint.

“Nice shoes,” Togami said dryly. “Trying to impress someone?”

As far as Togami knew from personal experience, whenever a girl dressed up in a manner similar to Naegi, it was usually to impress someone else. Of course, Naegi wasn’t that type of girl, as Togami quickly learned.

“I’m not really trying to impress anyone,” Naegi replied. “Nor am I dressing up for anyone…I just _really_ wanted to wear a dress…”

…

…

“A-Are you mad at me?” By now, Naegi’s face was redder than a tomato, as a result of Togami staring at her for a prolonged period of time. Naegi wondered if she had said something wrong, because otherwise, Togami wouldn’t have been staring at her like this.

If Togami were to actually be honest for once, it was because Naegi’s answer had caught him by surprise. He had grown too used to the idea based on his own personal experience, where his female classmates would usually do various things to their appearance in order to catch his attention. Not that he really cared. It was just something that Togami had experienced throughout his middle school years and his brief time at his previous high school before he had gotten the letter from Hope’s Peak Academy. Still, hearing Naegi’s answer was actually a fresh breath of air for him…

_“Interesting…”_ Togami couldn’t help but think.

“T-Togami-kun…?” Naegi stuttered a bit. “Have you seen Fujisaki-san?”

Naegi just wanted to know where Fujisaki was at this point so she could just leave and forget about what had just happened.

Togami blinked. “I believe I might have seen her in the library.”

Togami had seen Fujisaki looking through the shelves in the library. She had probably been looking for a book about computer programming or something similar. Togami hadn’t been paying much attention to her and he was quite sure she appreciated that.

“I see…” Naegi smiled nervously. Slowly, she started to distance herself away from Togami, knowing very well that he was paying attention, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to leave… “Th-Thank you…I’ve been looking for her, so I guess…I’m gonna…go now…bye!”

Having said that, Naegi quickly broke into a run and dashed down the hallway, nearly slipping when she abruptly turned a corner. Togami arched his brow as he watched this, wondering quite briefly if he should follow after Naegi. He quickly dismissed the thought and decided to continue what he had originally been doing, which was making his way to the kitchen.

…

…

When Naegi had entered the library, she was pleased to see that Fujisaki was in fact inside. At the moment, Fujisaki was tampering with the broken laptop. Then she looked up and saw Naegi.

“Naegi-kun!” Fujisaki exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you!” Naegi said as she walked over to Fujisaki. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just…messing around with this laptop…” Fujisaki replied as she continued tampering with the laptop. “I’m just happy to be around something like this…”

“Ah, that’s right…you’re the Super High School Level Programmer, huh?” Naegi could understand why Fujisaki would be comfortable around a computer, even if it didn’t work. “Say…if you don’t mind me asking, just how did you get into programming?”

Fujisaki blinked. “Huh?”

“Well, I mean…I always assumed most programmers were guys, so…” Naegi trailed off when she noticed that Fujisaki was starting to tear up. “Fujisaki-san…?”

“Is it…is it really that weird…?” Fujisaki sniffed.

Naegi shook her head. “N-No, nothing like that! I was just curious what got you interested in it. I mean, why programming, of all things…?”

…

“Why…?” Fujisaki thought for a moment. “Well, there isn’t much of a reason…I’ve always been kind of weak, ya know. I was never able to run around with my friends or anything…We had a computer at home, so I’d kill time poking around with it. And I found out I really liked it!”

Fujisaki paused to look at Naegi. She smiled when she saw that Naegi was listening intently. “Now my father was a software engineer, and he had a bunch of programs on there that he’d built. I found one of them and started playing around with it, adding stuff here and there…And that’s how I ended up making my very first program.”

“Interesting…what kind of program was it?” Naegi asked.

“A kind of database software…” Fujisaki answered.

“Database software,” Naegi repeated.

“A user could communicate with it, and it would take that information and find what they were looking for,” Fujisaki explained. “It was a way of interacting with the computer without having to physically type things out.”

“That’s voice recognition…right?” Naegi looked questioningly at Fujisaki.

Fujisaki smiled widely at Naegi. “Yup, exactly! You could talk to it, and it could actually talk back. It was a lot of fun! It didn’t even really sound like me! I would get totally absorbed in talking to it…”

_“It’s like a kid recording themselves and playing it back again…”_ Naegi laughed at the thought.

“Um…the key part of the program was getting it to recognize what I was saying.” Fujisaki recalled the difficulty she had. “The recognition accuracy was the most important thing. Japanese is kinda hard, so it was pretty challenging.”

“But you were able to do it eventually, right?” Naegi questioned.

“Yup!” Fujisaki replied. “And right around then…my father found out I’d mess with his software without permission. I thought I was gonna get in so much trouble…But all he said was how impressed he was! The software was able to take natural speech and pull out key search terms to retrieve information. My father said it worked so well, it was gonna change the face of software interaction all over the world!”

“That’s great!” Naegi smiled at Fujisaki.

A rosy blush tinged Fujisaki’s cheeks as she twiddled her fingers together. “The development costs are still pretty expensive, so it hasn’t spread that much yet, but…Anyway, I’ve been addicted to programming ever since… I can’t tell you how happy it made me to be able to make others happy…!”

It was obvious that Fujisaki loved computers. She just seemed to lighten up when she started talking about them. It made Naegi happy just to see Fujisaki talking about something she loved.

“Hey, Naegi-kun…why were you looking for me?” Fujisaki asked.

Naegi blinked and smiled. “Do you wanna hang out?”

“Huh?!” Fujisaki hadn’t been expecting that. “Uh…you want to hang out…with me?”

Naegi nodded. “Yeah…do you want to?”

Fujisaki blushed. “Yes! I just…why me?”

“Because we’re friends, aren’t we?” Naegi smiled.

Fujisaki stared at Naegi for a moment and nodded. “Yeah…we are…y-you look nice, Naegi-kun.”

“Oh, thank you!” Naegi said as she blushed. “You know, I was a little worried about wearing this dress, but I just really wanted to wear it, ya know?”

“Really?” Fujisaki tilted her head to the side. “You don’t look like the type—I mean…sorry…”

“No, it’s fine!” Naegi reassured. “I know I don’t look like the type, so I’m used to hearing it from my friends. I mean, I usually get told to be a little more feminine…”

Fujisaki frowned. “Does that…does that ever bother you?”

Naegi blinked. “Getting told to be a little more feminine? No, not really…I mean, yeah, sometimes, but then I take the time to think about it and you know what? I’m comfortable the way I am.”

“I-I see…” Fujisaki hadn’t been expecting that answer. “So…what do you want to do, Naegi?”

“I dunno…you wanna just talk?” Naegi hadn’t really considered what she would do when she found Fujisaki.

“Okay!” Fujisaki seemed delighted. “Since I told you about myself, how about you tell me about yourself? I mean…if you want to.”

“Sure!” Naegi was fine with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, another chapter, people…I should be worried because it’s like barely week two of college and like, I’m not behind on work, but I DO have a one-page script that’s due in less than thirty minutes. Like, I can wing it, but still…where are my priorities? Welp, at least I’m not staying up till like 3 AM with a report that’s due in seven hours or something.  
> So a special shout out and thanks to Ebony sword (an FF.Net reader), for suggesting a sundress so Naegi can wear the bunny hairclip. This chapter would have not been the way it was were it not for their review…also, a bit of a shout out for UnstableFable, for helping me with my decision to let Naegi keep her red sneakers with the dress…because Naegi is a dork.  
> You guys got some free time with Fujisaki and other character interactions of the Hagakure, Asahina, and Oogami kind, with a side order of Togami. If you want any other character interactions while Naegi is still wearing the dress and her bunny clip, then feel free to suggest it. Though, I will say this now…this won’t be the last time Naegi will wear the dress and hairclip.  
> That’s about it for now, I gotta get working on that one-page script (blaaargh). Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Until next time!


	9. Reminisce

When Makoto Naegi had first met Junko Enoshima, she had been expecting a busty girl with flawless, porcelain-like skin and big, blue eyes. That was the girl Naegi usually saw in magazines displaying the Super High School Level Fashionista. Instead, Naegi got a girl with a smaller bust-size, a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, and somewhat small, blue eyes. How Enoshima appeared to Naegi at that moment did not match up to what she was used to seeing in magazines.

One explanation later and Naegi was now informed that Enoshima’s cover photos were usually photoshopped. Naegi was initially crushed to hear that, to the point Enoshima felt depressed about it…But then Naegi said something that made Enoshima blush…

“I don’t know why they would want to get rid of your freckles…” Naegi thought they looked cute on Enoshima. “I think it’s just mean they touched up your photos to that extent…You look fine the way you are.”

Enoshima had not been expecting that and was blushing furiously as a result. She was very much flattered and actually wanted to talk more to Naegi, but Ishimaru cut their conversation short as Naegi still needed to introduce herself to everyone else.

…

…

Not long after Naegi woke up in her room after being knocked out by Mondo Oowada, she reunited with Sayaka Maizono. Since then, Naegi and Maizono had stayed close to each other, with Maizono offering to be Naegi’s assistant. Though, the instant the two had gone their separate ways on the second day, which happened moments after Naegi took the replica sword to her room, Naegi found herself being pulled aside by Enoshima.

Enoshima had taken a moment to look over Naegi, her eyes narrowing when she saw the dark bruise that had formed on Naegi’s left cheek. Without even saying anything, Enoshima grabbed onto Naegi’s wrist and started dragging her in a certain direction. Naegi had protested, but Enoshima had completely ignored her. Minutes later, Naegi was now inside Enoshima’s room, with Enoshima looking through her bag for something.

“Um…why am I here…?” Naegi couldn’t help but ask.

“That bruise on your face is really bothering me,” Enoshima replied as she looked through her little bag. “Let’s see…here we go! Now I want to you sit on my bed and look at me.”

Naegi blinked. “Why?”

Enoshima huffed. “Just do what I tell you, Naegi…make my job a little easier, okay?”

Naegi nodded and did as she was told. Ten minutes later, Enoshima pulled out a compact mirror and held it out for Naegi to check her own reflection. Naegi was surprised to see that the dark bruise on her left cheek was no longer visible, Enoshima having covered it up with make-up.

“What do you think?” Enoshima asked. “Did I do a good job or what?”

Naegi nodded. “You’re amazing, Enoshima-san!”

Enoshima blushed a little. “It’s nothing really, even a girl like you should know how to use cover-up, unless…”

…

“Sorry…” Naegi knew little to nothing about make-up, except from what she heard from her sister, Komaru. For the most part, Naegi never had any need for make-up, so she never bothered with it. “I don’t really use make-up, so…”

“Hah, so that’s what it is…” Enoshima sighed. “I guess I should have expected it from someone like you…guess I’ll be doing your make-up, then.”

“What do you mean?” Naegi looked questioningly at Enoshima.

“I’m not just gonna let you go parading that dark bruise on your face like it doesn’t bother you!” Enoshima would make sure that Naegi wouldn’t. “So from now on, I’m gonna be helping you cover up that bruise. Speaking of that bruise, just what the hell were you thinking when you got in the way of someone like Oowada? Huh?”

Naegi rubbed the back of her head nervously. “I just…didn’t want him and Togami-kun fighting…”

Enoshima crossed her arms. “Naegi…you need to be more careful around guys like Oowada. You’re so small and he’s so huge…you got lucky that it was just a bruise. It could have been worse.”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “S-Sorry…”

Enoshima sighed heavily. “Don’t apologize, just…be more careful.”

“I will…” Naegi would try.

…

“So…do you wanna hang out?” Enoshima suggested. “I have waaay too much time on my hands and I’m just so bored…”

Naegi stared at Enoshima for a moment and nodded. “Okay…”

And that was how Naegi had her first ever conversation with Junko Enoshima. Not that Naegi hadn’t spoken to Enoshima before, but this was the first time Naegi had an actual conversation that wasn’t just introductions. Naegi actually learned more about Enoshima as a person. There was more to her than what Naegi had seen and read in magazines. It was actually…nice.

Then Enoshima brought up dating and Naegi somehow ended up talking about something she had little to no experience in, much to Enoshima’s amusement.

…

…

“God, I am so bored…” Enoshima sighed as she looked through a magazine.

Naegi found Enoshima hanging out in the laundry room after breakfast. Enoshima was trying to kill some time by looking through a stray magazine that had been left on the table in the laundry room. Naegi was just searching for some means to fix her clothing problem. Naegi happened to have the luck of being the only student who had not found any clothes in their drawers. It was barely the third day and Naegi was already starting to lament her bad luck in regards to her clothing problem.

“Heeey, Naegi~!” Enoshima exclaimed as she looked up from the magazine. “Slacking off again, huh?”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “Not really…”

“Oh…?” Enoshima sat up straight in her seat. “Is that so…well, it seems you have something to do. Ugh, meanwhile with me…God, I am seriously freaking bored…!”

Scowling, Enoshima literally threw the magazine in her hands onto the table. She was done reading. She was just so bored doing absolutely nothing.

“I’m gonna die…” Enoshima clenched her teeth. “I’m gonna die from being so bored! I think I’m already half dead. There’s nothing to do around here!”

…

“Well, except do your make-up…” Enoshima sighed as she looked at Naegi’s face. “Can’t believe I almost forgot about that… C’mon, we’re going to my room, Naegi.”

Without even waiting for Naegi to respond, Enoshima grabbed onto Naegi’s wrist and started dragging the Super High School Level Good Luck to her room.

About fifteen minutes later, Naegi’s bruise was successfully covered up with make-up. Enoshima seemed rather pleased, but still rather bored at the same time. As she was putting away her make-up, Enoshima got an idea when her eyes came across her tube of mascara. The mascara she had on her was crap, but Enoshima could still manage with it. In fact, she could still manage if she used it on someone else other than herself.

“Hmm…” Enoshima thought for a moment. “Hey, Naegi…don’t move, I’m not done…”

Naegi blinked. “Huh?! But you already covered my bruise up—!”

“Yeah, but I’m not done!” Enoshima insisted. “I’m bored, and you look like the type of girl who needs a crash course in make-up, so what better way to kill two birds with one stone?”

And that was how Naegi came out of Enoshima’s room with make-up on her face. Maizono had been rather impressed with the way Enoshima had done Naegi’s make-up and Naegi had learned a few things about Enoshima. For one thing, Enoshima had once been homeless, but her way of wording things prompted a couple of questions from Naegi. Basically, Naegi learned that there was even more to Enoshima than what she had initially appeared…and that she (Naegi) looked nice with make-up.

Nobody else really questioned why Naegi was wearing make-up, mostly because one had to look closely at Naegi to realize she was even wearing make-up in the first place. It was subtle, but _definitely_ there to those who looked closely. Of course, the only person who was capable of taking a closer look was Maizono, who usually stayed close to Naegi.

In the evening, however, Naegi’s classmates couldn’t help but notice how much bigger her green eyes seemed as well as how much fuller her lips appeared. Yamada even thought that Naegi looked rather cute…and immediately refused to look at Naegi anymore after that thought crossed his mind. Everyone else just considered it as Naegi being happier than usual, because that was how she definitely appeared as she talked to Maizono and Enoshima, the three of them having decided to eat dinner together.

…

…

During the fourth day, right after Naegi had escorted Maizono to her (Maizono’s) room after a rather harrowing experience in the A/V room involving the DVDs Monokuma had given everyone, Enoshima was quick to drag Naegi into her (Enoshima’s) room. Naegi was rather surprised that Enoshima would have even wanted her company, as everyone had been practically in shambles after viewing their own DVD in the A/V room. No one was really in the mood to socialize, but Enoshima seemed to be one of the exceptions.

Enoshima had sat Naegi down on her bed and then quickly looked through her drawers for something. About a minute later, Enoshima returned to Naegi’s side with a small bottle of light purple nail polish in her hand. Naegi had protested to the color, but Enoshima wasn’t hearing any of it.

“Just give me your hand!” Enoshima said firmly. “I’m really bored and I just want to get my mind off a few things.”

Naegi made a face, but reluctantly complied. Minutes later as Enoshima continued painting Naegi’s fingernails, she started talking in a rather calm, but serious tone.

“Hey, Naegi…” Enoshima began. “Can I tell you something? I mean, you and you alone…”

Naegi blinked. “Just me? What is it…?”

“My true intentions,” Enoshima replied.

Naegi made a face. “Huh…?”

“To be honest, I’m kinda fed up with all this.” Enoshima sighed heavily. “Like, people said I was good at what I do, and I let that get to my head, you know? I just stuck with that one thing, but I’m kinda, I guess, wondering if that’s what I really want…”

Naegi thought for a moment about what Enoshima had just finished telling her. “…Are you thinking of quitting modeling or something?”

Enoshima stopped painting Naegi’s fingernails for a moment and just looked at Naegi. “…”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “D-Did I say something wrong…?”

“You’re fine, Naegi,” Enoshima simply said. “It’s just…Dreams are meant to change as you grow up, right? Depending on where you’re at—kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school… But I’ve had the same dream since I was a little kid, and I’ve been rushing toward it ever since. So I’ve never really had to think all that hard about my dreams.”

“But what’s wrong with that?” Naegi asked. “It just means you still feel the same way about it, right?”

“That’s what I used to think.” Enoshima smiled wistfully as she continued painting Naegi’s fingernails. “But if that doesn’t change, your possibilities can’t grow, right? That’s how new opportunities are born. And up until now, I never did that. I never let my dreams grow. All I saw was that one dream. I put everything I had into that one narrow little world…”

Enoshima stopped for a moment to look over Naegi’s hand. She had finished painting every fingernail on Naegi’s right hand. Nodding to herself, Enoshima released Naegi’s right hand and gestured at Naegi to hold out her left hand. Naegi did as she was told and Enoshima promptly began painting the fingernails on Naegi’s left hand.

“I feel like there’s so much more I could be doing that I’m not, and I don’t like that feeling…” Enoshima continued. “So I think I’m going to start looking for it…Is it childish of me to think like that? Am I just being selfish?”

“No, not at all…” Naegi shook her head. “I mean, I’m the same the way. I’m still trying to figure out what it is I want to do. And sometimes I feel like I’ll never find it…I feel like maybe I’ll spend the rest of my life looking for it…But I’m not sure if it’s even about finding it or not finding it… Maybe the important thing is that you’re _looking_ for it.”

Enoshima stared at Naegi with wide eyes. “Naegi, you…You actually sounded kinda cool just now!”

Naegi sputtered as her face heated up. “N-No, that’s not what I was trying to—”

“But you could be right,” Enoshima cut Naegi off. “Getting lost can be a good thing! As long as you’re looking for it, maybe that’s enough to be happy…Yeah. I’m gonna remember what you said. Thanks, Naegi…”

“S-Sure…” Naegi smiled awkwardly.

“In return, I promise that if I do decide to kill someone, it won’t be you!” Enoshima smiled widely at Naegi.

“D-Don’t say scary stuff like that!” Naegi exclaimed.

“Ehehe!” Enoshima giggled. “Naegi can be so cute sometimes…hey, hey…can I call you Makoto? Maybe something cute like Mako-chan?”

“M-Mako-chan?!” Naegi blushed.

Enoshima grinned. “You like it, don’t you, Mako-chan? Ahah, I’m just teasing you…so is that a yes or a no?”

“Makoto is fine…” Naegi replied sheepishly.

“Makoto it is!” Enoshima seemed rather happy. “Feel free to call me whatever! Aha, I guess that makes us friends, huh?”

“Friends…” Naegi repeated. “…Yeah, I guess it does, Enoshima-san.”

Enoshima sighed. “I’ll let that slide for now, but eventually, I want you to stop calling me that…okay?”

Naegi nodded. “Okay, Enoshima-san.”

“Anyway, before I can do what you said, I gotta get out of here first!” Enoshima figured that she needed to do that before anything. “So I’m definitely gonna find out how to get out…!”

“You do that…” Naegi just hoped that Enoshima didn’t consider killing anyone off.

“And with this, I am done!” Enoshima exclaimed as she released Naegi’s left hand. “Now try and be careful while your nails dry!”

Naegi nodded and looked at her fingernails. “Hmm…”

“What’s wrong?” Enoshima asked.

“I don’t know if the color suits me…” Naegi replied.

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Enoshima insisted. “You’re probably thinking that way because it doesn’t really fit with your clothes, but maybe I can fix that…”

“How?” Naegi looked questioningly at Enoshima. “I don’t really have any other clothes to change into.”

Enoshima grinned mischievously. “I can certainly think of an alternative…”

At that moment, Naegi realized how dangerous the Super High School Level Fashionista seemed. And about fifteen minutes later, Naegi found herself wearing a somewhat large black cardigan over a white dress shirt with a red mini-skirt that fit loosely around her hips. Enoshima took a moment adjust the red polka-dotted white tie she had finished placing around Naegi’s neck. Once she had finished, Enoshima took a moment to look over Naegi, somewhat amused with how Naegi looked.

“Heehee, you look great…” Enoshima snickered as she flattened down Naegi’s hair. “If only I can keep this ahoge down…”

“Don’t bother…” Naegi huffed. “It never stays down for long…”

Enoshima removed her hands off Naegi’s hair. “Oh well, then…how about I try this instead!”

Naegi blinked as Enoshima clipped something into her hair. “Huh…?”

“It’s a bunny hairclip!” Enoshima exclaimed. “I got it like a few days ago, but I never really did find a day to wear it, so it’s just been sitting in my bag since then. And with the crap that’s been happening, I doubt I’ll ever find a day to wear it, so…I’m giving it to you.”

“R-Really?” Naegi’s eyes widened.

Enoshima grinned widely. “Totally! And if you want, you can keep those clothes as well.”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “I think I’m fine…”

“Okay, but my offer still stands!” Enoshima was really having fun for once.

Naegi was also having fun. For the first time since she and her classmates were trapped inside the school, Naegi was actually smiling genuinely. And even though Naegi was still worrying about the video she had finished watching in the A/V room, she still had a reason to laugh and smile…all because of Enoshima.

_“Is this why she brought me to her room…?”_ Naegi couldn’t help but wonder. If that had been the case, then Naegi was certainly glad that someone like Enoshima was around to liven up her situation.

…

…

On the fifth day, the calm, yet nerve-wracking life everyone had recently adjusted to came to an end with the discovery of Sayaka Maizono’s dead body. Everyone had thought the worst when they had heard Naegi’s horrified screams of terror. Enoshima had been the first person to reach Naegi, who had passed out on the floor, just in front of the entrance to the bathroom. As everyone else entered the room and encountered the nightmare-inducing sight of Maizono’s bloody corpse, an announcement was made by Monokuma. Aside from bluntly confirming that Maizono was in fact dead, he instructed everyone to head toward the gymnasium.

It had taken Kirigiri a few minutes to convince everyone to do what Monokuma had told them. Then the question of how Naegi was to be taken to the gymnasium was asked. Enoshima had been rather protective of Naegi when her classmates started talking about who would carry Naegi to the gymnasium. Enoshima wanted to do the job herself, but Hagakure was chosen to carry Naegi instead. As Hagakure carried Naegi on his back toward the gymnasium, he couldn’t help but notice the look Enoshima was giving him. If looks could kill, Hagakure would have been dead.

Hagakure had set Naegi down on a blue bench when he and his classmates entered the gymnasium. Asahina and Fujisaki were quick to flock to Naegi’s side, with Enoshima staying close, but not too close. She kept a close eye on everyone, her thoughts focused on Maizono’s killer.

When Naegi woke up half an hour later, she was disoriented at first, until she recalled what had happened, at which she screamed. Enoshima was quick to jump to Naegi’s side, trying her best to calm the Super High School Level Good Luck. It had hurt to see Naegi in denial, unable to accept the fact that Maizono was dead. It annoyed Enoshima when she had seen how blunt Togami had been towards Naegi.

Enoshima could tell that Naegi had been trying her hardest not to cry when she finally said that Maizono was dead, denial finally having turned into acceptance. Enoshima had done her best to keep Naegi stable, in an emotional sense.

Then Monokuma made his appearance. And when he confirmed that it was a student who had killed Maizono, everyone had starting looking at each other suspiciously. It took a minute for Monokuma’s words to set in, at which Togami decided to ask a question.

“If one of us really did kill her, that person gets to graduate from school, right?” Togami asked.

“Huh?” Monokuma tilted his head to the side in question.

Togami scowled. “Don’t play dumb! That’s what you said, isn’t it?! If you kill someone, you get to leave!”

“Upupu…” Monokuma began laughing. At first, his laughter was restrained, but it soon turned maniacal, much to everyone’s discomfort.

“Why are you laughing…?” Kuwata asked nervously.

“Upupu…it’s cuz…” Monokuma snickered. “Naïve…You’re just so naïve! You think it’s really that easy? You can just kill someone and waltz on outta here? You’re super naïve! Devilishly naïve! HELLISHLY NAÏVE! No no no, the real thing has just begun.”

“The…real thing?” Naegi repeated questioningly.

If Naegi had any idea what Monokuma was about to say next, she would have stayed quiet. Because when Monokuma had explained the second part of the rule regarding graduation, when he had brought up the subject of class trials, when he had specifically mentioned the two possible outcomes of the aforementioned class trials…Naegi had felt sick to her stomach. It was just unbelievable… Monokuma would give everyone a certain amount of time to investigate the murder, just so they could figure out whom among them is the blackened, the results being decided by popular vote. If they guess correctly, only the blackened would be punished…but if they chose poorly, then everyone _but_ the blackened will be punished, punishment being execution, as Monokuma so gleefully explained.

As Monokuma’s explanation began to set in, something seemed to have snapped within Enoshima. She was not pleased with the information Monokuma had given everyone. She spoke out against Monokuma, effectively pissing him off, much to everyone’s amusement. However, the exact moment Enoshima applied actual force to her words, in which Monokuma had ended up under her boot as she stepped down on his face, all amusement turned into horror as everyone recalled Monokuma’s rules in regards to harming him.

“Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed,” Monokuma growled. “You’ve violated a school regulation…I invoke the mighty summon spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!”

Within mere seconds, the sound of pierced flesh and blood splattering onto the floor filled the gymnasium. It took Enoshima a moment, just a mere second, to realize what had happened. The pain was indescribable. One cough was all it took to fill Enoshima’s mouth with blood, which quickly dripped out of the corners of her slightly opened mouth. Tears welded up in the corners of her eyes and the top half of her face had turned blue.

“…” Enoshima struggled to find her voice as her body twitched violently. Even though it was right in front of her eyes and she could _feel_ it, it still took her a moment to process that those were in fact spears that were going into and sticking out of her torso. “Wh…? H-Huh?”

Enoshima had been brutally impaled by numerous spears, most of which went through her torso. Every second or so, her body convulsed, still hinting that there was some life left within her, but not for long.

“This wasn’t…supposed to…” Enoshima’s life quickly began to flash before her eyes. Her vision started to fade, her body beginning to feel colder with each passing second. She had so many regrets, Enoshima quickly realized, so many regrets…but one such regret haunted her as she somehow managed divert her eyes so that she was looking at Naegi, who had been standing near her when she had been impaled.

The horrified look on Naegi’s face overturned every other regret Enoshima had. She wanted to tell Naegi it was okay, that everything would be fine, but she couldn’t…and she knew that even if she could, her words would be nothing but comforting lies because she was dying. She was dying a slow, painful death, right in front of her classmates…right in front of Naegi, whose bruise was completely visible because Enoshima had forgotten to do Naegi’s make-up. Ah, there was another regret…

“Why…me…?” Enoshima lamented, coughing one last time before her eyes suddenly shot wide open. Her body convulsed one last time before it fell back onto the floor. And just like that, she never moved again.

At the time, all Naegi could really do was just stare at Enoshima’s dead body. Compared to how she had reacted to discovering Maizono’s bloody corpse, witnessing Enoshima’s death was a stark contrast in terms of how Naegi reacted. Naegi was still conscious, albeit visibly disturbed and horrified. She wanted to scream, cry—do _something_ , but Naegi just continued staring.

Naegi continued staring, even after Monokuma had handed everyone the Monokuma File. It was only until Kirigiri had placed her hand on Naegi’s shoulder that Naegi had finally stopped staring. By then, Kirigiri had managed to convince everyone to look for Maizono’s killer.

Naegi was surprisingly quiet when Celes had brought up the location of Maizono’s body: Naegi’s bathroom. Even when everyone started eyeing her suspiciously, Naegi stayed calm, even though within her mind, she was screaming. Instead, Naegi walked closer to Enoshima’s body, knelt down, and lightly touched Enoshima’s body.

…

“She’s really…dead…” Naegi finally spoke.

Togami had been quite blunt when he responded to Naegi’s comment. Naegi didn’t really react much, even though she wanted to. She didn’t pay much attention to Hagakure, who finally realized the seriousness of the situation, despite having been in it for over five days already. Though, when Kirigiri calmly explained the situation to her, Naegi finally understood what she had to do…and started investigating.

…

What Fujisaki hadn’t told anyone on the night Naegi had stayed over in her room was that during the middle of the night, Naegi had started crying in her sleep. She was crying over Maizono, which was to be expected. Even though Maizono had used her, Naegi still considered the Super High School Level Idol her close friend. However, when Naegi’s crying turned hysterical, Fujisaki was quick to shake Naegi awake. From there, whatever emotions that Naegi hadn’t shown at the time of Enoshima’s death came out all at once as Naegi cried for Enoshima.

Naegi cried over the fact that Enoshima would never have a chance to look for another dream, the advice she had given the Fashionista rendered useless by the fact that Enoshima was now dead. Naegi sobbed when she realized that Enoshima would no longer be there to help her cover the bruise on her face or fuss over her appearance, yesterday having been the last day it would ever happen. If Naegi had any regrets, it was that she had never called Enoshima by her given name, Junko…

If there was a time that Fujisaki was actually relieved her room was soundproof, it was now.  When Fujisaki recalled this fact, she felt a small pang in her chest when she remembered that it had been her and Enoshima who had confirmed that the rooms were completely soundproof. Fujisaki had never been close to Enoshima, as Naegi had been. Fujisaki could never comprehend the grief Naegi had been through, at least, on the same level… But the least Fujisaki could do was try her best to comfort Naegi as the Super High School Level Good Luck mourned over the death of Junko Enoshima, the Super High School Level Fashionista.

…

…

When Naegi had been looking through the warehouse for a change of clothes, she had come across a white sundress that was in her size. Naegi had taken a moment to look over the dress, wondering whether or not she should take it with her. Had it not been for the bunny hairclip that Enoshima had given Naegi, she would have let the dress be… Because as Naegi looked over the dress, a thought suddenly popped up in mind.

_“This would look cute with that hairclip.”_

And that was why Naegi decided to wear the white sundress, of all things, when she changed out of her clothes. As Naegi clipped the bunny hairclip into her hair, she had felt her eyes beginning to burn before her vision suddenly blurred. When Naegi blinked, she felt moisture…she was crying.

Even now, Naegi still had a hard time coping with the fact that Junko Enoshima was dead. But instead of letting it get to her, Naegi found a reason to smile instead.

“Kuwata-kun…Maizono-san…” Naegi began. “I’ll carry them with me forever…I’ll carry their memories with me wherever I go…”

That was what Naegi had told Kirigiri. She hadn’t mentioned Enoshima’s name at the time. It wasn’t that Naegi had forgotten or had deliberately left Enoshima out… It was that Naegi had yet to come to terms with Enoshima’s death.

“I’ll do the same for you as well.” Naegi would make sure of that. “I’ll keep looking for you…looking for that dream you never got to look for. Because…we’re friends…right, Enoshima-san?”

Naegi smiled widely as tears streamed down her cheeks. She still had a long way to go before she was capable of bringing herself to call Enoshima by her given name. But for now, she was okay…because she was still alive. And she would stay alive, for the sake of her friends who had already died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I did the chapter—yaaaay! And it’s only been six days since the last chapter and just, holy crap, how the hell am I NOT behind on homework? It’s week three of college and I managed to finish up yet another chapter. I feel accomplished, but still worried about my priorities.  
> In any case, this is the Junko Enoshima chapter I had been promising. It was surprisingly not that difficult to write. I was worried that I would have had issues with this chapter, but nope, everything turned out all right…and Christ almighty, when will I stop being so descriptive (and gruesome) about character’s deaths?! Ugh, chalk that one up as another reason why this fic is rated M… And just to let you guys know, before you get any ideas, you guys won’t get any smut out of me. I am absolute shit when it comes to that, like…I can do suggestive stuff of the adult nature, but when it comes to writing a sex scene, you’re more likely to see me crying in the corner, lamenting my terrible writing skills. Sometimes, I wish I had Fukawa’s imagination and writing skills…but nope, I’m more of a fluff person who is big on character interactions and such.  
> Terrible writing skills aside, even though this was the Junko Enoshima chapter, you got some Maizono on the side as well as Togami being a prick, as usual, and Fujisaki being good emotional support. Also, a dash of Kirigiri, somehow she managed to make her way into this chapter, which is awesome. Also, I now have a MIGHTY NEED to see more Naegi (male or female) in Junko Enoshima’s clothes. Because I totally know they wouldn’t fit Naegi right, but that’s the point of the image.  
> ALSO, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode came out recently and just…from what I’ve seen, like barely twenty minutes into the game and shit has already hit the fan HARD. I’d definitely say that’s a new record for the Dangan Ronpa series. Welp, I guess I should prepare my feels when the translations some people are already planning are put up. I’m gonna regret this, but I must persevere! I MUST BE THE LAMBO!  
> God, it’s been a while since I even lingered in the Katekyo Hitman Reborn fandom…and I’m gonna keep it that way for a long while because the last thing I need is more ideas for fanfics when I haven’t even finished ANY of my stories. I’ve been writing for nearly six years now and I have YET to complete a freaking story. I’m hoping that’ll change soon with Façade potentially being the first fic I MIGHT just finish first…  
> I think that’s all I have to say, for now. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because I certainly did! So until next time, readers!


	10. Cooking

Naegi had been having a rather nice evening with Fujisaki…then they entered the dining hall. Mostly everyone (Togami was still in the library and Fukawa was still in her room) was already sitting down together at the main table. So when Naegi and Fujisaki entered the dining hall, all attention was on them, but mostly on Naegi, due to her current state of attire. Hagakure, Asahina, and Oogami already knew what to expect, but the fact was that they still weren’t used to the sight of seeing Naegi in a sundress. As for the rest, it was their first time seeing Naegi in a sundress.

Kirigiri was predictably quiet, as usual. Celes was calm, if a bit stunned and somewhat amused. Oowada was struggling to find his voice, having been rendered practically speechless. Ishimaru was trying his hardest not too stare too long at Naegi, but failed. Yamada, on the other hand, was quite _pleased_ with the sight of Naegi being in a sundress.

“Pettanko-chan is looking quite moe today!” Yamada exclaimed.

Naegi blinked. “Pettanko-chan…?”

…

…

“ _Hey_!” Naegi exclaimed as she covered her chest.

“Upupupu…trying to deny the truth?”

Naegi scowled when she saw that Monokuma literally came out from under her skirt. If it weren’t for the fact that harming Monokuma was against the rules, Naegi would have kicked him… _hard_. Actually, Naegi had been wanting to do that since she and her classmates had condemned Kuwata as the blackened. She just wanted to kick him even harder until he exploded…quite literally.

“Nice shimapan, Naegi-kun.” Monokuma laughed behind his hands (paws?). “Upupupu…”

Yamada’s glasses suddenly gleamed. “Shimapan? So Pettanko-chan…is _that_ type of girl?”

At that moment, Naegi felt a sudden chill go up her spine. She had no idea why, but whatever it was, she did not like it…at all. If that wasn’t enough, Fujisaki had taken to latching onto her arm, almost in a protective manner.

“L-Leave Naegi-kun alone!” she exclaimed. “S-She doesn’t deserve this harassment!”

“Fujisaki-chan is right!” Asahina had had enough. “What did Naegi ever do to deserve this? Hey, Ishimaru! Don’t you think this is highly inappropriate?!”

With the situation having changed and in sudden need for the Super High School Level Moral Compass, Ishimaru was able to snap out of his stupefied state. “It IS highly inappropriate and definitely not welcomed in a school environment! I cannot allow this behavior to continue any longer!”

“And if it _still_ keeps up, I’m gonna beat the shit out of the next person who tries anything funny on Naegi!” Oowada held up his fist in a threatening manner.

“You will also have to go through me,” Oogami said in a calm, but firm tone.

Realizing that his current behavior would only garner him negative reactions at this point, Yamada quickly gathered his act and had a change in expression. “Of course I am only interested in 2D, so Naegi Makoto-dono’s shimapan have no effect on me!”

It was obvious that Yamada was lying to some extent, but he had at least turned his attention away from Naegi. For that, Naegi was relieved.

“Upupu, guess the fun’s over then…” Monokuma decided to give Naegi a break…for now. He was about ready to leave, but before that, he needed to tell Naegi something. “By the way, Naegi-kun, your laundry’s done.”

Naegi eyed Monokuma suspiciously for a moment before she gently pried Fujisaki off her arm. Once Fujisaki was off her arm, Naegi calmly made her way out of the dining hall.

…

…

“I-I’ll go after her!” Hagakure was quick to volunteer, much to everyone’s surprise. He didn’t even bother to let anyone speak before he ran off after Naegi.

…

“Th-That was unexpected…” Asahina remarked.

“Indeed.” Oogami couldn’t help but agree.

Monokuma just laughed and Kirigiri silently stared at the bear, wondering if she could even try to figure out his motives. As far as Kirigiri knew, Monokuma had taken a liking to making everything worse for Naegi. Maybe it was because of the irony in making the Super High School Level Good Luck experience bad luck…that definitely seemed to be the case, from how Monokuma had been behaving around Naegi.

Of course, as of lately, everyone had started behaving differently around Naegi. Fujisaki had started growing bolder, if only by a bit, Oowada was actually quite the decent person around Naegi, Hagakure was starting to show a different side to his usually cowardly, eccentric character, and Yamada…was still Yamada, not much change from him, actually…except maybe he was paying more attention to Naegi, much to everyone’s discomfort. Kirigiri made a mental note to have a serious talk with Yamada before nighttime.

Oogami and Asahina were much friendlier to Naegi than usual, and Fukawa had even opened up to Naegi, much to everyone’s surprise. Celes was still indifferent to Naegi, but slowly, she was starting to build an interest in the shorter girl. Ishimaru was quite the disorderly person around Naegi. And then there was Togami…

Kirigiri still had her thoughts and questions in regards to Togami’s sudden interest in Naegi. It wasn’t exactly as discomforting as Yamada’s interest, but it still concerned Kirigiri to a point.

…

 _“Looks like I’ve been behaving differently around Naegi as well.”_ Kirigiri had only just noticed. She was certainly a bit more protective of the Super High School Level Good Luck. _Why_ , Kirigiri had only just started the process of finding out, but she had a small feeling that it might have to do with her concern for Naegi’s well-being.

…

…

When Hagakure and Naegi returned to the dining hall, Naegi was riding on Hagakure’s shoulders. She…wasn’t that amused with her current position. Hagakure, on the other hand, was blissfully unaware. He seemed to have been having fun carrying Naegi on his shoulders, despite the fact that she kept messing with his hair in an attempt to keep it out of her face.

The reason why Naegi was even on Hagakure’s shoulders was because he had been giving her a boost back in the laundry room. Naegi had only meant to hang up her clothes on the clothesline…but then Hagakure decided that, instead of putting Naegi down when she had finished hanging up her clothes, as he had originally intended, he would carry her all the way back to the dining hall.

Naegi was only happy to see that Monokuma had left the dining hall. He would have certainly made her current position even more embarrassing than it already was for her. Of course, in Monokuma’s place, was Fukawa, who had finally decided to leave her room. At the moment, Fukawa was struggling to figure out where she should sit. The main table, where everyone usually sat together at during meals, seemed to be an obvious choice, but to Fukawa, the smaller, separate tables seemed more appealing. Though, when Fukawa spotted Naegi, who was still sitting on Hagakure’s shoulders, her gloomy expression seemed to have lightened up a bit.

Upon reaching the main table, Hagakure _finally_ put Naegi down. Even though Naegi should have been relieved, she was more embarrassed over the manner Hagakure had taken her off his shoulders. It took Hagakure a moment to realize why Naegi was blushing furiously as she adjusted her dress’s skirt. He laughed, causing Naegi to jump a bit before she turned to look at him.

“Don’t worry!” Hagakure reassured. “I didn’t see ‘em!”

Naegi’s blush only darkened upon hearing Hagakure’s comment. “D-Don’t say it out loud!”

Of course, it was already too late as all attention was now on Naegi. Fujisaki’s face was about as red as Naegi’s face. Asahina glared at Hagakure while Oogami just shook her head. Oowada was trying to pretend he didn’t hear anything, a light blush tinging his cheeks. Ishimaru was perplexed, having not understood the context of Hagakure’s comment. Yamada was nearly tempted to say something that could possibly make Naegi’s situation even more awkward for her…then Kirigiri stared coldly at him, effectively shutting him up. Celes just twirled a lock of her hair as she tried to look uninterested, even though she was slightly amused.

Fukawa, on the other hand, just stared at Hagakure for a moment before marching over to Naegi. What happened next caught everyone by surprise as Fukawa literally pulled Naegi away from Hagakure. In the few seconds that it had taken everyone to process what had just happened, Fukawa looked accusingly at Hagakure and suddenly exclaimed, “P-Pervert!”

Hagakure was completely taken aback by Fukawa’s accusation. “Wh-What?!”

“You h-heard me…” Fukawa narrowed her eyes at Hagakure. “You’re p-probably the type of guy who goes after y-young-looking girls.”

“Don’t go around making up assumptions like that!” Hagakure snapped. “I’m not that type of guy!”

“L-Liar!” Fukawa wasn’t convinced.

While everyone else was still trying to figure out just what the hell was going on, Naegi decided to take initiative and literally got in between Fukawa and Hagakure. It wasn’t her smartest idea, especially based on experience, but Naegi did what she could do. It at least got Fukawa and Hagakure to take their attention off each other and on her.

“Don’t fight,” Naegi said firmly. “Please…”

Fukawa and Hagakure stared at Naegi for a moment…then they averted her gaze. Hagakure rubbed the back of his head and then took his seat at the farthest end of the main table. Fukawa stayed standing, her eyes immediately focusing on Naegi when the shorter girl finally sat down at the main table. While Naegi took a moment to gently tell Oowada to take his feet off the table, which he sheepishly complied, Fukawa sat down in the empty chair right next to Naegi. For the second time in a row, Fukawa’s actions caught everyone by surprise.

Fukawa tried her hardest to ignore everyone’s stares on her as she scooted closer to Naegi. Naegi just stared at Fukawa for a few seconds…and then smiled at the Super High School Level Writing Prodigy.

“It’s good to see you again, Fukawa-san!” Naegi had been hoping Fukawa wouldn’t stay in her room all day. She was glad that Fukawa showed up…

And Fukawa felt oddly giddy to hear Naegi say that…she didn’t know what to think. Fukawa smiled nervously as she twiddled her fingers. “I thought of a w-way to counter your burning k-kindness…and that was by u-using my own kindness.”

“Kindness…?” Naegi blinked.

“D-Did I do well?” Fukawa thought she did. “Or is m-my kindness not enough?”

Naegi thought for a moment and realized that Fukawa had been talking about her recent behavior towards Hagakure. It wasn’t what Naegi would consider kindness, but…she did see that Fukawa was trying and for a first attempt, Naegi gave it a pass. “You’re fine, Fukawa-san.”

“I-I see…” Fukawa was honestly relieved…not that she would admit that, of course. She still had her doubts, but at the moment, she was just willing to let herself ignore them…just so she could fully enjoy the kindness and concern Naegi held for her.

…

…

“So…” Naegi began. “I’m gonna make dinner…Is everyone okay with that?”

Naegi was aware that her question was going to earn her attention and it did. But she didn’t really mind. She just felt like making something for her classmates… She was surprisingly still in a good mood, and, to be honest, she was just wanted to give everyone a reason to stay together. After what had happened in the morning, Naegi was afraid of her classmates distancing themselves from one another.

So rather than wait for everyone’s answer, as Naegi had yet to receive one, she decided to get up from her seat and make her way to the kitchen. It was only until after she had disappeared into the kitchen that her classmates finally spoke.

“I didn’t know Naegi could cook…” Asahina smiled as she turned her attention to her classmates. “Heeey, does anyone else know how to cook?”

Fukawa smirked as she diverted her eyes on Hagakure. “I b-bet Hagakure doesn’t know how to c-cook.”

Hagakure scowled at Fukawa. “Hey, I’ll have you know I can in fact cook!”

“Really?” Celes was rather intrigued with this fact. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, my mom taught me all that she knew!” Hagakure seemed rather proud of this fact. “Course, I still have a ways to go before I can match up to her cooking, but I can make simple things, like breakfast and lunch…what about you, Fukawa-chi?”

Fukawa looked down. “…”

“Aww, it’s okay, Fukawa-chan!” Asahina reassured. “Aside from donuts, I can’t really make anything else! Except maybe some tea, but that’s something you drink!”

“That is nothing to be proud of,” Celes remarked as she twirled a lock of her hair.

Asahina pouted. “Well, what can you do?”

“I might be able to make a few things, but I am mostly a tea-oriented person.” Of course, Celes preferred to obtain her tea from cafés, but sometimes she didn’t have the time and just had to take matters into her own hands. “I wonder how everyone else fares.”

“The only foods I can make are onigiri and rice with green tea,” Ishimaru admitted.

“My cooking is absolute shit,” Oowada said quite bluntly. “Never had the time to learn…I bet Fujisaki knows how to cook.”

Fujisaki’s face reddened. “Ah…I don’t, actually. I’ve always been so caught up with programming that I never had a chance to learn.”

“Ah, Chihiro-tan can’t cook?” Yamada was surprised.

“I’m…sorry…” Fujisaki seemed embarrassed.

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Yamada’s face when he quickly realized that everyone was glaring at him. “Of course, I can’t cook as well! Even Mama was too busy to always cook, so she never had the chance to teach me!”

…

Kirigiri blinked when she noticed that everyone was looking at her. She sighed as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “If you are wondering about my ability to cook, you’ll be disappointed to know that I have never learned.”

“So does that mean, aside from Naegi, only Hagakure and Sakura-chan know how to cook?” Asahina asked innocently.

Upon mentioning Oogami’s name, all attention soon quickly focused on her. Oogami just closed her eyes as a light blush tinged her cheeks. If felt as if everyone expected her to be the last person in the room to know how to cook. As caught up as she was in fighting and training, even Oogami put some time aside to learn how to cook and improve her cooking skills. She was surprised to learn how very little of her classmates knew how to cook.

Of course, there was still the question of whether or not Togami knew how to cook…but everyone quickly assumed that, as the Super High School Level Heir, he wouldn’t have needed to learn how to cook. It was only expected that he would have had a personal chefs to do such tasks for him back at home.

Speaking of Togami, the Super High School Level Heir himself showed up half an hour later after everyone had mentioned his name and the question of whether or not he had knew how to cook. As far as Togami knew, his classmates were all fixated on the topic of how important it was to know how to cook. That was as much as he had gathered from the conversation going on between all of them. It didn’t concern him, so he continued making his way to the kitchen in order to refill his now empty mug of coffee.

When Togami had entered the kitchen, he had not been expecting to see Naegi cooking. That was the last thing he had ever expected to see, even more so because Naegi was completely immersed in her cooking. She hadn’t even noticed that Togami was in the kitchen and that alone was something he found amusing, especially after how she had reacted to him earlier.

Togami found the scene rather interesting and walked closer to Naegi to get a better look at what she was cooking. He was quick to notice that the rice cooker that Ishimaru had brought into the kitchen from the warehouse was currently in use. He had also noticed the steaming pot of miso soup occupying a space on the stovetop, with Naegi currently using the other space to fry what seemed to have been tonkatsu.

Naegi had yet to notice Togami, even though he was literally standing behind her. And it had stayed like that for a few minutes until Togami decided to voice a question that he had been wanting to ask.

“What the hell are you doing?” Togami’s tone was rather blunt.

Naegi stifled a shriek that wanted to leave her mouth and managed to keep herself from jumping. She quickly looked over her shoulder, a small bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face when she saw Togami was behind her. “T-Togami-kun…what are you doing here?”

“I was here to make some more coffee…and then I found you.” Togami crossed his arms. “And you never did answer my question.”

“I’m cooking dinner…” Naegi replied nervously as she turned off the stove. “It’s tonkatsu…”

…

“Maybe I should have inquired ‘why’ instead of ‘what’.” Togami huffed. “Because it’s obvious that you’re cooking tonkatsu, though what I want to know is _why_.”

Togami had noticed that Naegi was making much more food than one person could potentially eat. Even Asahina, who had already demonstrated how much food or rather, donuts, she could wolf down in a sitting, would have trouble downing all the food Naegi was making.

“Oh!” Naegi smiled. “I’m making dinner for everyone—I’m almost done!”

Togami arched his brow at Naegi. “Again, I’ll ask why.”

“I just want to…” Naegi was starting to feel a little nervous around Togami. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“That depends…do you have any ulterior motives, such as say…poisoning everyone’s food?” Togami eyed Naegi suspiciously.

“What?!” Naegi couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why would I do that—where would I even get poison from?!”

Naegi’s answer had almost been predictable… _almost_. Togami had expected her first reaction, but her questioning of where she would obtain poison from was…unexpected. It just added yet another layer of complexity that made Naegi into an even bigger enigma…and a slightly more interesting person, though only _slightly_.

“You’re right…where _would_ someone like you obtain poison from?” Togami’s words were rather blunt, but Naegi didn’t seem especially bothered by them.

“So…are you going to eat with us?” Naegi decided to change the subject. “Because it’d be nice for everyone to be together…”

Togami scoffed. “I thought I already said that engaging in ‘friendly’ group meals was out of the question.”

“Well, are you at least going to eat?” As far as Naegi knew, Togami had been in the library all day.

“If you’re insinuating that I will eat your food, you are sadly mistaken.” Togami would never bring himself to eat such… _plebeian_ food. “I only eat food made by professionals or myself.”

…

“You can cook?” Naegi didn’t know that.

“Is it that surprising?” Togami felt it wasn’t as cooking was quite the convenient skill to have, especially given the current situation. “Only an incompetent fool would rely entirely on others to cook for themselves.”

By now, Togami had felt as if he had talked to Naegi far longer than he had intended to. Without even saying another word to her, Togami walked away from Naegi and made his way to the coffee maker he himself had taken from the warehouse and brought into the kitchen in a manner similar to what Ishimaru had done with the rice cooker. Compared to the coffee Togami preferred, which was of the finest quality drip-brew, the coffee he made using the coffee maker was completely inferior. However, it was a definite step up above the instant coffee he had to stomach until the warehouse had become accessible.

As Togami busied himself with the task of making himself coffee, Naegi went back to cooking. She tried her best to ignore Togami’s staring (and she knew he was staring, his attempts to avoid being noticed having failed) as she continued cooking the rest of the tonkatsu she had prepared. By the time she had finally finished cooking, Togami had already left the kitchen. Naegi let out a relieved sighed upon noticing that, having felt somewhat unsettled by his staring.

When Naegi moved over to the rice cooker to check on the rice inside, she was surprised to find a mug of coffee next to the rice cooker. Naegi looked questioningly at the mug of coffee, taking a moment to put two and two together before realizing that Togami had left it for her. She blinked a few times after coming to that conclusion. It seemed unreal, and yet…there it was, a mug of coffee that only Togami could have made while she was cooking. It was quite…strange.

 _“Did Togami-kun forget his coffee…?”_ Naegi thought as she stared at the mug. After about another minute of staring at the mug of coffee, Naegi decided to push all thoughts and questions regarding the coffee Togami had left aside and instead, focused on serving her friends dinner.

…

…

Togami was completely immersed in a book (or at least, _trying_ to immerse himself in it) when the scent of cooked food caught his attention. He looked up from his book, somewhat questioning why such a scent would even be in the library, of all places. He found out why and it was because Naegi was carrying a tray of food in her hands as she walked closer to him. He arched his brow at the sight.

“What are you doing?” Togami felt the need to ask.

“I brought you dinner,” Naegi replied.

“Did you not hear me?” Togami couldn’t believe what he just heard. “I thought I already made it clear that I only ate food made by professionals or myself.”

“I heard you fine,” Naegi said as she set the tray on the table, right next to the pile of books Togami had set aside. “But I’m still leaving this here for you. Whether you eat it or not is up to you. I just want you to know that it’s here—oh! And thank you for the coffee.”

Togami said nothing and just went back to reading his book. He listened closely as he read his book, looking up only after he was sure that Naegi had left the library. With Naegi no longer in the library, Togami turned his attention to the tray of food she had left him. He stared at it for a moment, taking in the sight before him.

The tray had a serving of tonkatsu on a plate with a bowl of rice and a bowl of miso soup. It was a typical Japanese-styled meal, one that Togami was familiar with, but had not ever eaten, as he had considered it plebeian food. Now Togami was never one to eat food made by others that weren’t professionals nor himself, as he had already stated beforehand… _especially_ if it was made by an ordinary girl. Togami had enough experience with his female classmates from his middle school years trying to force their homemade bento on him, which he harshly refused. And yet as he continued looking at the food Naegi had made…Togami found himself thinking.

And as Togami thought, he noticed that the room was starting to smell like the food Naegi had brought him. It would be an inconvenience to go all the way back to the kitchen, which he had only recently returned from, just to get rid of a tray of food. Sighing, Togami snapped his book shut and set it down on the table. Just this once, he would try this plebeian food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yet another chapter! By the way, this chapter sort of deviated into it’s own thing, but hopefully, it brings up some of the Naegami some of you guys have been wanting, as well as some other character interactions…but yeah. It’s not much and freaking hell, it’ll take a WHILE for the Naegami to build up because Togami being Togami. Unlike the others, such as say—Fujisaki, Togami is still a huge prick with a huge ego and it shows.  
> Also, this chapter was a good way to bring up some of my headcanons when it came to each character (those who are still alive) and their cooking skills. I consider Oogami, Hagakure, Naegi, and Togami being quite possibly the only people who have an idea on how to cook. Oogami and Hagakure are probably the last people you would expect to know how to cook, which is why I like thinking they know how to cook, Oogami especially (I just love the idea of cooking Oogami so much). Then there’s Togami, who probably has no reason to learn how to cook…but can, because he considers it stupid to rely completely on others to cook for him (because that sounds completely like him). And of course, there is Naegi, which is rather obvious because come on…even someone as average as Naegi should know how to cook.  
> Of course, Asahina knows how to cook…but only donuts and Ishimaru can in fact cook something, but again, all he can make is onigiri (rice balls) and rice with green tea. That was something about Ishimaru revealed in School Mode.  
> And if you guys are wondering what the heck Yamada meant by “pettanko” and what Monokuma meant by shimapan…Pettanko is a term used to refer to flat-chested girls, which is what Naegi is (as Monokuma has already confirmed). As for the shimapan…it’s an abbreviation of shima-pantsu, which means striped panties… And there’s a thing involving the color and style of panties, or rather, “pantsu” when it comes to indicating a female’s character…and for shimapan, it indicates that the girl is either shy, a kuudere, or a tsundere. There might be other character traits, but as far as I know, this is what they indicate…and this is WHY Yamada was intrigued by this discovery.  
> By the way, when I mentioned Togami and instant coffee, Ouran High School Host Club popped up in mind and I had this HILARIOUS thought of Togami having attended Ouran High… And then I remembered Haruhi and imagined this fem!Naegi being put in Haruhi’s position and I just had to give myself a moment because I was laughing so hard…Yeah, I’m weird, I know.  
> Also, Fukawa doing things for Naegi…dat friendship is starting to show and this is how. It’s not exactly much, but Fukawa is trying her hardest and goddammit, she’s just trying to impress her friend. Fukawa still does not understand the human emotion called friendship in her current state. And I don’t know why, but Hagakure carrying Naegi and probably everyone around, just seems to be something that’ll probably become a thing. There’s just something about the oldest person of the group carrying his younger and shorter classmates around…  
> I believe that is all I have for this chapter. So I hope you guys enjoyed it! So until next time, everyone!


	11. Accident

Ishimaru was at the end of his wits trying to figure out his recent streak of odd behavior as he patrolled the dormitory hallway. He was aware that Naegi was the most probable cause for it, as her current state of attire had caught him off guard. _Why_ it had caught him off guard was what Ishimaru was trying to figure out, as his reaction was unlike the reactions he usually had around his female classmates from his middle years. The usual reaction Ishimaru had around his female classmates was to inform them that their skirts were far shorter than school regulations would allow or that they were showing too much cleavage, much to the annoyance of his male classmates (who never seemed to follow regulations as well, what with their unbuttoned jackets and disheveled appearances).

And yet, when it came to Naegi, all Ishimaru could do was just stare at her like an idiot. Be it, the sundress Naegi was wearing was of appropriate length, the skirt just brushing the tops of her knees, but that was the least of his concerns. Ishimaru’s main concern was the fact that he had even acted the way he did in the _first place_. It was just not like of him to act that way at all.

_“What would Naegi-sensei even think?!”_ Ishimaru clutched his head.

…

…

“A bath…” Ishimaru suddenly said to himself. “A bath will clear up my mind.”

At least, Ishimaru hoped it would. He couldn’t think clearly at the moment, he just had too much on his mind. Not much was even happening at the moment, so now was a good time as any for him to take a bath at the bathhouse. After taking one last look around the hallway, Ishimaru started making his way to the bathhouse.

…

The bathhouse was empty when Ishimaru arrived…or at least, the changing room was. Moments after Ishimaru had changed out of his clothes and entered through the doors wearing only a towel, Ishimaru’s red eyes met a pair of green eyes. Ishimaru blinked once…then twice…and then a third time for a good measure. It had taken Ishimaru about a full minute to realize he was staring at Naegi, who was already inside the bathtub.

Naegi blinked.

Ishimaru blinked yet again.

The two just continued staring at each other, almost as if they had no idea how to react to their current situation. Another minute passed and finally, a reaction in the form of a loud scream was made. It was Ishimaru who had reacted first, leaving Naegi behind in stunned silence as he ran out of the room.

…

When everyone (minus Togami) had arrived to investigate the source of the scream, Ishimaru was blocking the door to the bathing area. He refused to move out of the way, even when told to step aside by Kirigiri. Ishimaru did not want anyone else walking in on Naegi while she was bathing. Sure, Naegi was wearing a towel and most of her body had been submerged in water, so Ishimaru really didn’t see anything, but the point still stood that he had in fact walked in on her while she was bathing…and that fact alone didn’t bode well with Ishimaru.

Meanwhile with Naegi, she was currently trying to figure out what had just happened. For one thing, wasn’t she supposed to have been the one to scream instead of Ishimaru?

…

_“I watch too much anime…”_ Naegi thought to herself as she lowered herself even more into the water. If there was one thing she was completely glad about, it was that Monokuma absolutely refused to ever enter the bathhouse. Of course, that still wouldn’t save her from the harassment she would most likely have to endure the exact moment Monokuma found out about the incident. “Poor Ishimaru-kun…”

Ishimaru wasn’t as used to being harassed by Monokuma as Naegi was. The Super High School Level Moral Compass was all about keeping discipline within a school environment and for him to have experienced such an embarrassing scenario…

“He’ll probably never live it down…” Naegi sighed in dismay. Her face was completely red, not from the heat of the bath water, but from embarrassment. She wasn’t so sure she would be able to face Ishimaru normally after this incident…but she would be damned if she didn’t at least _try_. For now, she just wanted to finish taking a bath so she could get out, change back into her clothes, and, hopefully, avoid Ishimaru for the rest of the day. If she wanted to even _attempt_ talking to Ishimaru after what had happened, she needed to prepare her emotions beforehand.

…

It took a total of ten minutes before Kirigiri was able to convince Ishimaru to change back into his clothes, as he had only been wearing a towel when she and the others had arrived. Once Ishimaru had finished changing, his demeanor seemed to have calmed, but his face was still red and he _still_ refused to let anyone near the doors. It took Kirigiri _another_ ten minutes to convince Ishimaru to let her through the doors.

When Kirigiri saw Naegi in the bath, she stared at the green-eyed girl for a full minute before closing her eyes and excusing herself for disturbing Naegi. Kirigiri left the room after that, having _finally_ discovered the cause of Ishimaru’s recent behavior.

“What happened…?” Fujisaki was the first of Kirigiri’s classmates to ask.

Kirigiri thought for a moment before calmly answering, “Ishimaru-kun walked in on Naegi-kun in the bath.”

…

…

“I am ashamed of myself for allowing something so inappropriate to even happen.” Ishimaru clutched his head in his hands as tears started streaming down his cheeks. “I am not someone worthy of possessing the title of Super High School Level Moral Compass…”

“Jesus, calm down…” A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Oowada’s face as he looked at Ishimaru. Oowada still didn’t like Ishimaru, for various reasons, but that didn’t stop him from sympathizing with the Moral Compass. “Accidents happen…it’s not like you walked in on her on purpose.”

“Unless it _w-was_ on purpose!” Fukawa was quick to interject. “H-How are you so sure it was j-just an accident?”

Oowada stared at Fukawa for a moment. “…You really like to pick fights, don’t ya?”

“S-Says the pot calling the kettle black…” Fukawa looked at Oowada with disdain.

“Y-You little…!” Oowada couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

As Oowada and Fukawa began to glare at each other, neither being capable of actually physically harming the other (Fukawa, for being too afraid to do anything, and Oowada, for being unable to hit a girl), Yamada silently made his way to Ishimaru and, very quietly, whispered to him the simple question of, “Did Ishimaru Kiyotaka-dono see anything?”

Ishimaru’s eyes widened as the image of Naegi wearing only a towel popped up in his mind with a vengeance. To answer Yamada’s question, yes, Ishimaru had in fact seen _something_ …but that was _nothing_ Ishimaru was happy about…at all. In fact, Yamada’s question had only served as a reminder to Ishimaru of what he did and just remembering that alone brought him shame that he felt towards himself and his title. So it wasn’t much of a surprise that Ishimaru starting screaming about how much of a disgrace he was and how he deserved to be hit.

Upon seeing Ishimaru react the way he did, Kirigiri was quick to glare at Yamada, who she knew was at fault. Yamada shrieked and immediately fled the changing room, nearly bumping into Togami, who had only recently arrived to investigate the loud screams coming from the bathhouse. Togami would have arrived earlier, except he had some business to take care of in the kitchen that involved a tray and empty dishes…that he did not want anyone finding out about. Seeing as everyone had flocked to the bathhouse the exact moment they heard Ishimaru screaming, Togami had taken the chance to get rid the tray and dishes and was successful in going unnoticed for doing so.

Though, due to his actions, Togami was completely unaware as to why Ishimaru was screaming. He had no idea _why_ Yamada had just fled the bathhouse, and, as far as he knew, Fukawa and Oowada were having a glaring contest…that he found oddly amusing. Asahina and Oogami were talking to each other about Yamada or rather, Asahina was talking about Yamada and Oogami just stood there and listened. Celes was wondering the pros and cons of staying any longer in the changing room, seeing as nothing dangerous or very eventful was even happening. And Hagakure and Fujisaki, along with Kirigiri, were trying their best to calm Ishimaru down.

It took Togami a minute to realize Naegi was missing from the scene. It was around that time that Kirigiri went through the doors to the bathing area for a brief moment…and after that brief moment, Kirigiri returned and demanded that everyone leave the changing room.

Everyone but Kirigiri and Togami had left the changing room after that. Kirigiri stared at Togami, who only stared back at her.

“What happened?” Togami finally decided to ask.

Kirigiri closed her eyes. “Ishimaru-kun walked in on Naegi-kun while she was in the bath…”

“…Is that it?” Togami had been wondering if something serious had actually happened and to find out that wasn’t really the case… “How disappointing…”

“You may think that, but Ishimaru-kun finds it disgraceful, being the Super High School Level Moral Compass and all…” Kirigiri understood Ishimaru’s situation. “And I believe I told everyone to leave the changing room…that includes you as well.”

“And what of you?” Togami had noticed that Kirigiri had also stayed behind.

Kirigiri tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I only stayed in order to ensure that everyone had left. That being said, why did you stay?”

“To ask a question,” Togami replied. “And now that I have an answer, I won’t be staying any longer…”

And true to his word, Togami left the changing room. Kirigiri took a moment after that to inform Naegi that everyone had left before leaving the changing room herself. About a minute later, Naegi peered into the changing room and, upon seeing that it was empty, entered. She made her way over to the lockers, where she was _finally_ able to change back into her clothes.

When Naegi left the changing room, she was surprised to find Fukawa outside, waiting for her. “F-Fukawa-san!”

“Naegi-kun…a-are you all right?” Fukawa looked nervously at Naegi. “D-Did he do anything to you? Tell me the t-truth.”

Naegi blinked. “What—no! Nothing happened!”

Fukawa frowned. “A-Are you sure?”

“I am _sure_ ,” Naegi said firmly. “Nothing happened—it was just an accident and, to be honest, I’m more concerned about Ishimaru-kun than myself.”

It was pretty difficult to ignore Ishimaru while he was screaming…in fact, Naegi was surprised that Monokuma wasn’t in the vicinity because of Ishimaru’s screaming.

“N-Naegi-kun…” Fukawa hadn’t been expecting Naegi to say that. “Y-Your kindness…I can’t win…”

Naegi was just too nice for Fukawa to comprehend…Fukawa needed to leave if she didn’t want Naegi’s kindness to burn her. Unlike before, however, Fukawa didn’t flee from Naegi. Instead, Fukawa said a simple, if quiet, “goodnight” before leaving to her room.

Naegi blinked a few times and smiled. As Fukawa was unlocking the door to her room, Naegi shouted a, “Goodnight!” to the Writing Prodigy.

Fukawa nearly fumbled with her key upon hearing Naegi say that to her. Not knowing how to handle the reciprocated “goodnight”, Fukawa quickly opened her door, entered her room, and slammed the door shut behind her rather noisily. Had Ishimaru not been in his room, where he was still beating himself up over the fact that he had walked in on his female classmate in the bath, he would have scolded Fukawa for her actions. Of course, as all the dormitory rooms were soundproof, Ishimaru heard nothing and no one heard his screams (except maybe Monokuma, who probably was watching everyone via surveillance cameras).

Speaking of Monokuma, he was currently enjoying the slight mayhem Ishimaru had caused when he had accidentally walked in on Naegi while she was bathing. And, quite predictably, he was already planning on ways of making _both_ of their lives miserable by letting them _never_ hear the end of the incident…starting with Ishimaru, whose screams were starting to bore him.

Needless to say, Naegi had all reason to worry for Ishimaru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho shit, another chapter and guess what? I just finished taking an exam (sociology to be exact) and I’m STILL not behind on work! How the hell am I doing this?  
> So let’s talk about this chapter because I FINALLY implemented the “walk-in” scene and Ishimaru was the winner. Now originally, I had planned on having this happen AFTER the Ishimaru Free-Time event that had him and Naegi bathing together in the bathhouse… I had it all planned out, but Naegi in a sundress pretty much overturned that plan. Because that plan involved Ishimaru forgetting that Naegi was female for a brief moment due to being waaay too excited at the fact that he and someone else were bonding…only to realize what he did after it had happened and overreact about it to the point that Naegi is more worried about Ishimaru than herself. This was supposed to have set up to the ACTUAL walk-in Ishimaru was going to have with Naegi, which is what you have seen in this chapter…  
> Of course, instead, we had Ishimaru worrying about the fact that he was staring at Naegi upon seeing her in the sundress…because this was the first time that Ishimaru had ever done this before and compared to how he usually acted around his female classmates…yeah.  
> Monokuma is still a sadistic bastard, Fukawa is rather overprotective when it concerns Naegi, Togami is still a prick (who wants no one knowing he ate Naegi’s plebeian food…the dork), and Kirigiri glaring at Yamada for making the situation worse is somehow becoming a thing.  
> By the way, friendly reminder that this fic will have multiple pairings, and that NaegixEveryone is basically what this fic is in a nutshell…with some other pairings on the side. I ship based on chemistry, by the way…just keep that in mind, especially since character interactions are my biggest basis for chemistry.  
> And since I failed to mention it last chapter, I’ll say it now… I’ve gotten over 10 chapters already, which is a milestone in itself…let’s see if this becomes ANOTHER fic where I manage to get over 20 chapters. Façade is still my first and so far, my only fic that I have gotten over 20 chapters (and even more than that), so I’m hoping that this fic becomes the second one to hit that milestone.  
> So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter (and maybe pity Ishimaru, for he is a precious baby), so until next time!


	12. Nervous

When Naegi woke up the next day to Monokuma’s morning announcement, she was surprised that he _still_ hadn’t mentioned yesterday’s events… In fact, Naegi was even _more_ surprised that Monokuma hadn’t mentioned it in his nighttime announcement the other day. She should have honestly felt relieved…but she didn’t. Naegi was really concerned because, as far as she knew, Monokuma was up to something. Whatever it was, Naegi just _knew_ that it was going to involve her and some form of humiliation…

“I should go get my clothes…” Naegi was a little worried that Monokuma might have done something to her clothes while they were hanging on the clothesline to dry. She wasn’t too sure that Monokuma would go that far as to mess with her clothing, but after the whole school swimsuit incident…Naegi had reasons to be wary. She still had no idea _why_ Monokuma only had her school swimsuit…

Though, when Naegi opened her door, she found that Ishimaru had been waiting outside of her room. Ishimaru stiffened when he saw Naegi staring at him. He struggled to find his voice and before Naegi could even say anything, Ishimaru immediately fell onto the floor in a dogeza.

“I am deeply sorry for walking in on you while you were bathing…” The shame in Ishimaru’s tone was quite evident, but his voice never wavered. “I am not deserving of my title for doing something so inappropriate.”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “I-It’s fine, Ishimaru-kun. It was just an accident—”

“Accident or not, I still have to take responsibility—!” Ishimaru insisted. “I will take responsibility…and take you as my wife!”

Naegi blinked. “Wife…?”

…

…

“Eeeeh?!” Naegi blushed furiously. “I-Isn’t that a bit too drastic?!”

“How else am I going to take responsibility for doing something so inappropriate—and to a female classmate, no less?” Ishimaru had already made up his mind last night while he was in his room, which he had started doing right after he had finally stopped screaming.

“It was an accident!” Naegi exclaimed. “You don’t have to go that far—and please get off the floor!”

Ishimaru stiffened, but did as he was told and got off the floor. He stood up straight and looked seriously at Naegi. “As I have said before, accident or not, I still have to take responsibility for my inappropriate actions—”

“Upupu…inappropriate actions?” a very familiar (and very much unwanted) voice laughed. “My, my, what did our Super High School Level Moral Compass do to our cute, little Super High School Level Good Luck?”

Ishimaru and Naegi froze for a moment…and then turned their heads to see Monokuma standing just right next to them. He was blushing profusely as he looked at Ishimaru and Naegi. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he said, “I never would’ve suspected that Ishimaru-kun was such a _deviant_!”

“Nnngh!” Ishimaru clenched his teeth as he tightened his fists.

“I guess even Ishimaru-kun has his limits!” Monokuma exclaimed as he rubbed the back of his head. “So when’s the dekikon? Western or traditional—give me _all_ the details!”

Naegi blinked. “Dekikon…?”

…

…

Naegi’s eyes widened. She could not believe what Monokuma just implied…her and Ishimaru having _that_ type of wedding? HOW? “I’m not—we didn’t—how the—!”

“Upupupu…” Based on Monokuma’s laughter, it seemed rather obvious he was _deliberately_ messing with Naegi.

Despite knowing that, it still didn’t stop the tears of frustration from welding up in the corners of Naegi’s eyes. She just woke up, it’s been more than a week that she and her classmates had been trapped in this hellhole, and all she wanted to do was just have a normal, simple day, but that was just too much to ask for because Monokuma had to ruin it…all while dragging poor Ishimaru into it. Naegi had had enough…

“I…I…” Naegi sniffed as she glared at Monokuma. “I _hate_ you!”

Not knowing really what to do without violating the rule involving violence against Monokuma, Naegi ran off in an attempt to avoid doing something she might regret. She had left in such a hurry that she had forgotten to close the door to her room. Fortunately, Ishimaru closed Naegi’s door for her, though not without getting a teasing remark from Monokuma.

“Already taken the position of a doting husband, huh, Ishimaru-kun?” Monokuma seemed amused. “Kids these days grow up so fast…”

Ishimaru stared at Monokuma for a moment before asking, “What is a dekikon?”

“Upupu…” Monokuma felt as if he had triggered a flag for something quite entertaining. “Why don’t you get a little closer so I can tell you?”

…

…

When Fujisaki had woken up that morning, she had woken up fifteen minutes before Monokuma’s morning announcement. She had reasons for waking up much earlier than usual, for the very same reason she was now in the laundry room. She was hoping that no one would have caught her washing her bed sheets and some of her clothes in one of the washing machines. Of course, when Naegi ended up barging into the laundry room, Fujisaki panicked.

“N-Naegi-kun!” Fujisaki exclaimed.

“Ah, Fujisaki-san!” Naegi looked at Fujisaki and quickly started to wipe away the tears she had in her eyes.

“A-Are you okay, Naegi-kun?” Fujisaki asked, looking concerned.

“I’m fine…I’m just a little frustrated…” Naegi had had just about enough of Monokuma… too bad there was just about nothing she could do about it without violating a rule. “I’m just gonna…check up on my clothes—what are you doing here?”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Fujisaki’s face. “Ah…I was just…washing some clothes…nothing more…Do you need help?”

Naegi blinked a few times and looked up at her clothes that were hanging from the clothesline. “…Yeah, I do…”

…

Minutes later, Naegi found herself trying to convince Fujisaki that it’d be best if she, Naegi, gave her, Fujisaki, a boost instead of the other way around. As Fujisaki was not only shorter and lighter than Naegi, it would have been more logical for Naegi to give Fujisaki a boost in order for Fujisaki to grab Naegi’s clothes off the clothesline. Of course, Fujisaki wouldn’t have it and _insisted_ on giving Naegi a boost…even though Fujisaki wasn’t physically strong enough to pick up a girl who, by Fujisaki’s standards, was heavy.

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face as Fujisaki continued trying to lift her off the floor, without any success of whatsoever. “F-Fujisaki-san, you’re gonna hurt yourself at this rate—”

“I’m _fine_!” Fujisaki insisted. “I _have_ to do this! I just… _please_ …”

“…” Naegi frowned, but allowed Fujisaki to keep trying.

About fifteen minutes had passed, in which Fujisaki was still trying and Naegi was growing worried about Fujisaki overexerting herself, before Ishimaru finally showed up, having been looking all over for Naegi. His face was red, mostly from embarrassment over what Monokuma had told him fifteen minutes ago, when Naegi had ran away, but Naegi and Fujisaki didn’t know that…especially since they had yet to notice Ishimaru was in the room.

Ishimaru looked at the scene before him, wondering what was going on until he looked up at the clothes on the clothesline just above Naegi and Fujisaki. He nodded his head and walked over to the two girls. Then, without warning, Ishimaru lifted Naegi off the floor, which caught both Naegi and Fujisaki by surprise.

“I apologize immensely if I have frightened you!” Ishimaru was quick to say. “Are you okay, Naegi-kun?”

Naegi blinked a few times and nodded. “I’m fine…I’m doing better than before, at least…”

Naegi was no longer mad, that was a good thing…

“That is good to hear…” Ishimaru was relieved. “What about you, Fujisaki-kun?”

“I-I’m also fine…” Fujisaki replied, even though her heart was pounding within her chest, but she didn’t really care about that. What she _did_ care about was the fact that Ishimaru was able to easily lift Naegi off the floor, when Fujisaki wasn’t capable doing the same. It _frustrated_ Fujisaki immensely to watch Ishimaru give Naegi the boost she needed to reach her clothes.

When tears started to prick the corners of Fujisaki’s eyes, she decided to leave without saying anything. Fujisaki didn’t want anyone to worry about her, which had a tendency to happen a lot whenever she cried. She just wanted to be alone for a while…

After Naegi had gotten all of her clothes off the clothesline, she took a moment to talk with Ishimaru, who had started apologizing to her profusely about what Monokuma had told them. He had not meant for that to happen and he hoped Naegi wasn’t too upset. Naegi wasn’t upset any longer and just wanted to forget about it entirely, but Ishimaru was making that difficult.

Luckily enough, for Naegi, she was able to talk Ishimaru into dropping the subject… She wasn’t as lucky with getting him to drop the subject about marriage at first, however, but after she had gotten Ishimaru to reconsider since she wasn’t sixteen and he wasn’t eighteen…Naegi was pretty sure she had convinced Ishimaru to drop it…at least, for now.

When Ishimaru had left the laundry room to join up with everyone who was most likely in the dining hall already, Naegi decided to go back to her room and change.

At least five minutes had passed before Naegi made her way over to the dining hall, where most of her classmates were waiting…most of them. Togami was predictably absent, as was Fukawa, who was probably in her room, debating whether or not she should leave. With only ten out of the twelve remaining student present, it was something that Ishimaru couldn’t help but notice how much smaller the group seemed.

“Is this…everyone?” Ishimaru asked, looking rather unsettled. “It feels a little…small. Even the table looks bigger, somehow.”

“I assume that is because three people are dead, and two are abstaining,” Celes remarked as she twirled a lock of her hair.

“Yeah, with five people missing, I guess it _would_ feel kinda empty…” Naegi sighed.

“But…even if we leave Togami alone, shouldn’t we go call Fukawa-chan here?” Asahina was rather concerned for Fukawa.

Hagakure, on the other hand, felt differently about Fukawa. “I vote no. She’s super annoying.”

Hagakure wasn’t going to let Fukawa’s accusations about him going after younger-looking girls go right by him. Fukawa hadn’t even apologized for falsely accusing him.

Celes lightly chuckled. “How can you be so cold? You are like a piece of rock candy.”

“What?!” Ishimaru exclaimed. “No, rock candy isn’t cold! It’s sweet!”

…

“Anyway, Togami’s the real problem,” Oowada said as he rubbed the back of his head. “If we don’t keep an eye on him, he might really kill someone. You can see it in his eyes…We got no choice! Get some rope! We’re gonna hafta keep him bound and gagged!”

“I think that’s going a little overboard…” Naegi seriously didn’t like the sound of that.

Ishimaru crossed his arms and nodded his head. “That’s right, Oowada-kun! The scariest thing in this kind of situation is recklessness within a group of peers. Haven’t you heard the stories about the activities of radical student movements?!”

“Aah?” Oowada questioned. “What activities and movements are you talking about?! Do you plan to have a rope pulling contest?!”

Ishimaru was taken aback. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “What—? You’re—a real clueless idiot!”

“WHO’S THE IDIOT…?!” Oowada yelled.

As Ishimaru and Oowada started yelling at each other, Fujisaki found herself crying again…just when she thought she had managed to stop crying. The tears just wouldn’t stop… She just hoped that no one would notice…

“Huh?” Of course, Naegi had to notice. “What’s wrong, Fujisaki-san? You don’t look so great…”

“Oh, I’m just going through a little…self-loathing.” Fujisaki sniffed as she wiped away the tears on the back of her sleeves. She couldn’t lie to Naegi…

Naegi blinked. “Huh? Self-loathing?”

“Well, after what Togami-kun said to me yesterday…I just got so nervous, I locked up. I couldn’t say anything.” It took Fujisaki hours before she was able to get over yesterday’s events, which was why she forced herself to enter the library while Togami was still inside. She wanted to show herself that she wasn’t completely intimidated by him… Of course, when Oowada had come to her defense, while she was thankful he did so, she still wished he hadn’t said… _that_. “Oowada-kun ended up having to help me out. And even _he_ said I was someone who ‘can’t fight back’…”

Oowada’s words had _hurt_ …especially since they spoke the truth. Fujisaki wasn’t strong…that was a fact. And if Oowada hadn’t pointed that fact out to her, then Fujisaki found out the hard way when she had tried to help give Naegi a boost in the laundry room. Naegi wasn’t even that heavy, but to someone as small as Fujisaki…Naegi _was_.

“I…I hate how weak I am…” Fujisaki sniffed.

“Ahh, I see.” Asahina nodded her head. “So it’s Oowada’s fault you feel down…”

“What?! How’s it _my_ fault?!” Oowada exclaimed. “I wasn’t tryin’ to be mean! Besides, girls are just naturally weak anyway right?!”

Any progress that Fujisaki had tried making in an attempt to stop trying had just been thrown out the window as Oowada had only made it worse for her. If she hadn’t felt that bad about herself before, she definitely did _now_. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she cried. “U…uuuuu…uuuuu……”

This caught Oowada by surprise. “A-Are you…crying…?”

“It’s because you raised your voice at her, isn’t it…?” Asahina looked sternly at Oowada.

“Nng…hic!” Fujisaki hiccupped.

“Hey, c’mon, don’t cry…” Oowada looked nervously at Fujisaki as he tried his best to calm her. He still didn’t like it when girls cried— _especially_ when it was his fault they were crying in the first place. “I-It’s my fault, okay? I won’t yell at you anymore…”

“Reeeaally?” Asahina eyed Oowada suspiciously. “You sound veeery suspicious…”

“J-Just shut up…” Oowada scowled at Asahina. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and sighed. It was pretty damn difficult for him to come to a solution to fix the situation he created…but then it suddenly came to him. “I got it! I’ll make you a promise as a man!”

This caught Fujisaki’s attention. “Eh? Promise…as a man?”

“Maybe I mentioned this before, but…” Oowada began. “Ever since I was a kid, there was one thing my brother told me over and over again… He said that no matter what, a real man ALWAYS keeps his promises. That’s what he left me.”

…

“Left you…?” Yamada repeated questioningly.

Oowada looked down as he placed his hands on his hips. “Oh, yeah…My brother’s dead.”

“Oh…I see…” This caught Naegi by surprise, especially since she recalled talking to Oowada about his older brother quite briefly the other day. “I’m…sorry…”

“Nah, don’t apologize,” Oowada said as he rubbed the back of his head. “Anyway, I don’t wanna talk about it. Don’t wanna make all you guys cry!” Oowada suddenly smiled at Fujisaki. “Anyway, so you can trust me when I make that promise. So you don’t gotta cry anymore!”

“O-Okay…” Fujisaki smiled widely at Oowada, a rosy blush tinging her cheeks. “Thank you…Oowada-kun.”

Oowada averted Fujisaki’s gaze as a light blush tinged his cheeks. “S-Sure…”

“But…I still don’t like how I am right now.” Fujisaki sniffed. “I have to get stronger…If I’m so weak anything can make me cry…that’s not good.”

“Still, don’t stress out too much about having to get stronger.” Naegi just didn’t want Fujisaki hurting herself or anything.

Fujisaki shook her head. “No…I _want_ to get stronger. Maybe I should…start working out…”

“In that case, I would be happy to help you out any time.” Oogami smiled.

“Y...you’ll ruin her…” Yamada began as he placed his hands on his face. “You’re going to ruin Chihiro-tan!!”

“Shut up, you!” Asahina snapped.

Fujisaki giggled. “Hee hee…hee hee…”

“Ah, so you’re finally laughing?” Hagakure smiled at Fujisaki.

Fujisaki twiddled her fingers together nervously as a rosy blush tinged her cheeks. “Y-Yeah…Everyone…thank you.”

Naegi smiled. She was happy that Fujisaki was doing a lot better than before. Though, she still worried about Togami and Fukawa… _especially_ Fukawa. Knowing the Writing Prodigy, she was still in her room. Naegi sighed and decided to check up on Fukawa later. For now, Naegi felt like making breakfast for everyone…except Hagakure decided to step in and make breakfast himself. And, surprisingly enough, Hagakure had in fact been telling the truth about being able to cook…and quite a decent cook, at that.

After everyone had eaten breakfast, Oowada was surprised to find Naegi following after him when he had left the dining hall. As Naegi was wearing her usual outfit again and not the white sundress with the bunny hairclip, Oowada wasn’t as nervous around Naegi. That still didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous as Naegi was still following after him and Oowada didn’t know _why_ …so he immediately stopped walking without any warning. This caused Naegi to walk into him and fall back onto the floor.

“Oh shit!” Oowada hadn't meant for that to happen. He was quick to help Naegi off the floor. “You okay?”

“I’m fine!” Naegi was quick to say. “You just…caught me by surprise…”

“So…why you followin’ me?” Oowada decided now was a good time as any to find out why Naegi was following him.

Naegi blinked a few times. “Didn’t you tell me the other day that I could spend time with you today?”

Oowada blinked and nodded. “Oh, right…yeah, sorry about that. I almost forgot…”

“It’s fine!” Naegi smiled. “So what do you wanna do?”

“Well, uh…what can we do…?” Oowada had considered having a one-on-one fight with Naegi…except then he quickly recalled that Naegi was a girl and him hitting girls was out of the question. “So…what do you like more—dogs or cats?”

“Huh?” Naegi blinked.

“Just answer!” Oowada exclaimed. He still didn’t do so well when he was nervous, so he hoped that Naegi didn’t mind it if he raised his voice. “Just so you know, I like dogs!”

Naegi nodded her head. “I-I’m kinda a dog person, too…”

“Really?” Oowada looked questioningly at Naegi. “You’re not just saying that, right?!”

Naegi blinked as she took a step back away from Oowada. “N-No, it’s true! Actually, I grew up with a dog in the house. It was a mutt, but he was still pretty cute…”

Oowada grinned widely at Naegi. “Right?! Cats are okay, but dogs are WAY cuter! What was his name?”

“Momo…” Naegi replied. “My mom was the one who named him…”

“Momo, huh…?” Oowada repeated. “That’s a cute name! So, how old is he?”

Naegi rubbed the back of her head. “Oh, uh…Well, we had Momo when I was a kid…Momo’s…Momo’s dead now.”

“O-Oh…” Oowada tightened his fist as he looked down. He hadn’t meant to bring up such a sad memory. “I know how that feels…It’s tough to lose a dog you love so much. I totally know how you feel!”

“So you used to have a dog, too?” Naegi didn’t know that.

Oowada nodded. “Yeah, Chuck. A maltese. He died when he was nine…”

_“A maltese?”_ Naegi wasn’t expecting Oowada to have own that type of breed. _“I was sure it would be a Doberman or a bulldog…”_

“Chuck was smart as hell, man…” Oowada remarked. “He’d bring in the newspaper every morning.”

“Really?” Naegi’s eyes widened. “That’s so cool!”

“Right?” Oowada grinned widely. “And then he’d beg me to take him for a walk. He'd look up at me and wag his tail…” Oowada’s grin suddenly ceased as he grimaced. “Oh…shit…! You brought up all those memories…! Seriously…! It sucks…”

Naegi sputtered. “I-I’m sorry!”

“Oi, Naegi!” Oowada exclaimed. “Let’s change the subject!”

“No need to shout!” Naegi frowned.

Oowada scowled. “Shouting’s in my blood, asshole! When I get stressed out, I yell! Shit!”

Oowada hadn’t meant to yell at Naegi like that. He was surprised that she still hadn’t run off. Most girls did that when he started yelling…and yet, Naegi stayed.

“I’m sorry!” Oowada exclaimed. “It’s just a nervous habit! What’s the big deal?! Other than the fact that it makes it hard to ask girls out! I get all nervous, and I start yelling! So I always get rejected! I’m on a 10-strike run right now! Fuck!!”

Naegi blinked as a small bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face. _“A 10-strike run…that’s a sad record…”_

“Oooh, shit…!” Oowada looked down in dismay. “It’s your fault I remembered something I wanted to forget! Why did you have to do this…? N-No…it’s not your fault…I should stop putting the blame on others…I’m gonna go now before I do something I regret.”

“W-Wait!” Naegi exclaimed. “Aren’t we going to hang out?”

Oowada rubbed the back of his head. “S-Sorry, but…we’re gonna have to reschedule. At this rate, I’m only gonna yell at you and that’s the last thing I wanna do.”

Naegi frowned. “Oh, okay…so…how about later today or…tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that’s sounds good…why don’t you go hang out with Asahina or Fujisaki?” Oowada suggested. “You should really hang out with the girls instead of a guy like me.”

“You’re starting to sound like my friends!” Naegi puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. Every once in a while, her friends would try and suggest Naegi make some female friends, since the majority of her friends were male. Naegi was never amused with their suggestion because she’d prefer staying with them.

Oowada’s eyes widened. That was the first time he had ever seen Naegi like this… It was almost adorable— “Shit! I’m sorry—I didn’t mean it like that! Look, how about I come looking for you instead of you coming to me?”

“You’d do that?” Naegi tilted her head to the side.

Oowada nodded. “Yeah, so how about you go hang out with someone else in the meantime…I’m sure Fujisaki would like to hang out with you—and I’m not just suggesting her because she’s a girl! She really likes spending time with you! Or maybe Fukawa, since you’re the only one she seems to like…”

Naegi thought about it for a moment and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right…I should probably go check on Fukawa-san. I need to make sure she’s not skipping out on any meals.”

“You do that…” Oowada sighed. “I’m…gonna be in my room if you need me. Just…don’t bother me right now, okay.”

“Okay…take care, Oowada-kun!” Naegi smiled at Oowada.

A light blush tinged Oowada’s cheeks as he averted Naegi’s gaze. “Y-Yeah, I will…”

Despite everything that had happened, Oowada was actually glad to have a friend like Naegi. She was the first female friend he had ever had and, while he had yelled at her a few times due to his nervous habit, she never left him. It was probably because she was more concerned about him than afraid at times, and just thinking about that made Oowada feel…happy. It was just a nice thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, I’M STILL ALIVE! Sorry about the late update, but…ugh, midterms and crap. In other news, I’m passing French, which is totally awesome. Like, seriously, totally awesome…  
> ALSO, people wondering about dogeza, it’s an element of Japanese manners by kneeling directly on the ground and bowing to prostrate oneself as touching one's head to the floor. It is used to show deference to the most highly-revered high-class person, as a deep apology and to express the desire for a favor from said person. In Ishimaru’s case, he’s doing it to apologize to Naegi.  
> And if you guys are wondering about Ishimaru going off about marriage…I dunno why, but he’s seems like the type of guy to do that if he ever walked in on a girl. Like, he’s sorta old-fashioned in regards to stuff like that. And if you’re wondering what a dekikon is, dekikon is short for Dekichatta kekkon, which is a slang term. It literally translates into “we-already-made (a baby) marriage," implying unplanned parenthood. And whatever Ishimaru was saying, out of context, to someone like Monokuma that is something they would have assumed…of course, Monokuma knew that wasn’t the case. He was just fucking around because he’s a sadist like that.  
> Also, fun fact, the marriage age of Japan for females is sixteen, and eighteen for males…you also have to be twenty years old in order to get married without parental consent because, in Japan, you are only considered an adult once you turn twenty. It’s one of those things…thought I’d mention it. That makes Hagakure literally the ONLY adult within Hope’s Peak Academy. Make what you will of that.  
> And Naegi’s dog being named Momo was maybe a bit of a reference to Kimi wa Petto, which is a josei manga that I happen to like…don’t judge me! DX I really like my josei manga, ESPECIALLY if it’s Kuragehime, or Princess Jellyfish.  
> Anyways, for some reason, I have it in my head that this fem!Naegi, when annoyed to a certain point, she’ll puff up her cheeks…think Chiaki Nanami when this fem!Naegi does it…there ya go! Also, to explain a certain thing…the reason why Oowada and Naegi’s friends would suggest she spend more time with girls is because in Japan, it’s extremely rare for a boy and a girl to just be friends. It’s one of those cultural things.  
> And, just to clear things up, that conversation between Oowada and Ishimaru involving rope-pulling contest…yeah, if you’re confused about that, it’s because I got that off Orenronen’s translation LP, which means translation notes! Yeah…might as well put it up here so you guys get the context of it.  
> "Ishimaru is talking about the student movements (gakusei undou) of the '60s. There were riots involved, and other things Ishimaru probably doesn't approve of. Oowada heard the word "undou" and thought of an "undoukai" - the sports festival held annually in Japanese schools, where a tug-of-war contest is often an event."  
> And there you have it! Blaargh, so many translation and cultural notes…I feel like an encyclopedia sometimes, but eh, the things you gotta do in order to explain stuff. So in this chapter, you got Ishimaru being a nervous precious baby, Oowada also being a nervous wreck, and poor Fujisaki going through some self-esteem issues involving strength…yeah, I feel pretty bad doing that to her, but…it just happened and it ended up being relevant to the plot, so…yeah…I still feel bad. AND HAGAKURE IS A DECENT COOK!  
> I think that’s about all I have for this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed it! ^^ Until next time, everyone!


	13. Kind

When Naegi went to go check up on Fukawa, the Writing Prodigy wasn’t so willing to leave her room. Of course, when Fukawa’s stomach started growling audibly and Naegi offered to make her breakfast…Fukawa _finally_ left her room. Fukawa seemed rather happy, in her own way, to see Naegi. Though, at the same time, Fukawa was also wary of Naegi, what with Naegi’s burning kindness still being incomprehensible for Fukawa.

Fukawa was at least relieved to see that the dining hall was empty, as was the kitchen. It just made it easier on her… She still wasn’t used to eating in front of other people and, normally, she _wouldn’t_ eat in front of others, but Naegi was slowly breaking her out of that habit. Fukawa had no idea why, though, but she didn’t mind…

…

Naegi found herself being stared at as she cooked, except, unlike the other day, it was Fukawa who was staring at her and not Togami. The slight difference between the two was that Naegi didn’t find Fukawa’s staring unnerving. Naegi _still_ had no idea why Togami was staring at her. At least with Fukawa, Naegi knew it mostly had to do with Fukawa having trust issues.

And thanks to those trust issues, Fukawa spent a good three minutes staring at the tamagoyaki Naegi had just finished making her. Fukawa looked at Naegi, who just smiled reassuringly at her. Fukawa turned her attention back on the plate of tamagoyaki in front of her. It took her another minute before she finally picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

For the next several minutes, Naegi took to watching Fukawa as she ate her food. Naegi had a couple of questions she wanted to ask Fukawa, but she had no idea _how_ to ask them. So as Fukawa continued eating, Naegi carefully thought out the questions she wanted to ask. She made sure she wasn’t directly staring at Fukawa as she did this, as Fukawa didn’t exactly do too well with people staring at her for prolonged periods of time.

When Fukawa had finished eating, she knew that Naegi had wanted to ask her something, so instead of letting Naegi ask the first question, Fukawa asked instead. “W-What is it? Do you w-want to ask me something?”

Naegi blinked. She hadn’t been expecting Fukawa to start the conversation like this…

A light blush tinged Fukawa’s cheeks as she continued speaking, “Is there s-something about me you want to kn-know—as a _friend_?!”

Naegi noticed that Fukawa seemed rather happy, which was a good sign. “Well…I tried to ask before, but I never had the chance…so what do you like to do in your spare time, Fukawa-san?”

“I just w-write,” Fukawa replied. “I’m serialized, so I’m a-always really busy…! And when I’m not writing, I’m s-studying. I’m not an idiot l-like you—aaaugh!” Fukawa clutched her head. “D-Dammit…! I had to go and open my b-big mouth again…You must hate me for s-sure now, right?”

Naegi shook her head. Sure, Fukawa might have insulted her, but Naegi didn’t take it to heart… “No, it didn’t really bother me…But I can’t believe you actually write novels! And that people all over the world read them…”

That was something Naegi still had a hard time comprehending…of course, she felt the same way about the rest of her classmates. Still, she really was impressed.

“So…” Naegi decided to ask another question. “How do you get your ideas for what you write? Is it like, real-life experience, or…?”

Fukawa couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you stupid?!”

Fukawa’s outburst took Naegi by surprise. “What…?”

“I t-told you, didn’t I? I write romance novels…!” Fukawa averted Naegi’s gaze. “How could I use m-my real-life experiences for that…?! It’s fantasy! It's all f-fantasy! From start to finish, every l-last word is fantasy! A fantasy that lets you fall in l-love as much as you want, even if you n-never do in real life! Or are you s-saying you can’t write romance unless you already have lots of experience i-in love…?”

“N-No, not at all…” Naegi hadn’t meant for her question to have such implications. She had just been curious…

“It’s okay,” Fukawa said, almost in defeat. “I’m used to p-people making fun of me…B-But…it’s weird…how c-come it doesn’t feel like you’re making fun of me…?”

Naegi frowned. “That’s because I’m not…I’m sorry, I was just curious…if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t had any experience with love, either…”

Fukawa stared at Naegi for a moment and nodded. “So we’re b-both the same…I s-see…”

“Anyway, since you said it’s all fantasy, you must have quite the imagination!” Naegi grinned at Fukawa. “That’s pretty impressive! I could never think up such fantasies!”

A light blush tinged Fukawa’s cheeks. “Th-That’s right…but I guess you’re not s-so bad yourself… You’re nice…and c-cute when you want to be…and you can cook…unlike me…”

“I can teach you if you want, ya know…” Naegi offered.

Fukawa bit her thumb. “Y-You’d really do that?”

Naegi smiled at Fukawa. “Sure! You can just come to me whenever you have any free time and I can teach you a few things—maybe get you started on something simple…what do you say?”

“I think…I th-think I’d like that…” Fukawa felt…happy…it was a nice feeling. “I…I need to go.”

Fukawa didn’t want to say anything she could regret, as she had earlier…not while Naegi was being nice to her. So Fukawa decided to excuse herself, and after taking her empty plate back to the kitchen, she left the dining hall altogether and went to her room. Naegi left the dining hall not long after, with nothing else left to do now that Fukawa was back in her room.

…

…

It didn’t take Naegi that long to find Fujisaki, who was in the laundry room getting her clothes (and bed sheets) out of a washing machine. Of course, Fujisaki wasn’t expecting to find anyone in the laundry room. It had been completely empty, save for her, until Naegi decided to show up, inadvertently startling Fujisaki, who nearly dropped her recently washed clothes (and bed sheets) in response.

“N-Naegi-kun?!” Fujisaki stared wide-eyed at Naegi. “Wh-What are you doing here?!”

Naegi blinked. “Uh…I was looking for you…I’m sorry if I scared you…”

“It’s fine!” Fujisaki exclaimed. “It’s just…I wasn’t expecting anyone to walk in on me while I was—”

“Getting your clothes?” Naegi finished for Fujisaki. “And are those your bed sheets?”

Fujisaki’s face reddened. “U-Um…”

…

“Ah…I see…don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” Naegi knew when to keep a secret. “Accidents happen, so don’t be so hard on yourself. And if you’re still worried about it, then just be glad that Monokuma hasn’t noticed.”

“Gh…” Fujisaki hadn’t considered that possibility. “What if he has?!”

“If he has, he would’ve said something about it now…” Naegi crossed her arms and sighed. “Anyway, do you need any help with that or do you have it covered?”

“I…don’t know about the bed sheets…” Fujisaki didn’t really think it through…

…

“Give me a couple of minutes…” Naegi didn’t want to do it, but she had no choice.

Fujisaki blinked. “O-Okay…?”

A few minutes later, Fujisaki found herself watching Ishimaru hanging up her bed sheets on the clothesline…of course, Ishimaru had no idea those were Fujisaki’s bed sheets, because Naegi had lied and said they were _hers_. Naegi had been blushing when she had said that. Why, Naegi would rather not say as it involved recalling a rather embarrassing secret of hers that she didn’t want anyone _ever_ knowing.

Luckily, for both Fujisaki and Naegi, Ishimaru didn’t ask any questions regarding the bed sheets.

Though, he did ask if Fujisaki needed any help hanging up her clothes, which she did. Unlike her bed sheets, Fujisaki wasn’t as worried about anyone knowing that she had washed her clothes. She still felt bad that Naegi had lied for her about her bed sheets…

After Fujisaki had hung up her clothes, Ishimaru left the laundry room without saying another word. A minute passed before Fujisaki and Naegi both sighed simultaneously in relief.

“That went well…” Naegi was surprised.

Fujisaki nodded. “Yeah…thank you, by the way. Sorry that you had to lie…”

Naegi shook her head. “It’s fine…so now that that’s out of the way…do you want to hang out with me?”

“Huh?” Fujisaki hadn’t been expecting that. “A-Again? I mean, not that I don’t mind, but…why?”

“To be honest, I like talking to you,” Naegi replied. “Especially when you’re talking about programming…you just seem like you’re enjoying yourself.”

“I-I see…” Fujisaki felt her face heat up. “Ah…”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Naegi’s face. “Did I say something wrong?”

“N-No, it’s just…thank you…” Fujisaki was just _really_ happy to have heard Naegi say that. “U-Um…what type of boy do you like?”

…

…

“Eeeehh?!” Naegi’s face reddened. “Wh-Where did that come from?!”

Fujisaki sputtered. “I-I-I’m sorry! I d-didn’t mean to—forget about it!”

“N-No, it’s fine!” Naegi reassured. “You just caught me by surprise—please don’t cry!”

“I’m trying!” Fujisaki was already wiping away the tears that were welding up in her eyes. “Uuu…they just won’t stop!”

“I am _so_ sorry!” Naegi hadn’t intended for her outburst to make Fujisaki cry.

Fujisaki sniffed. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I made you cry!” Naegi exclaimed.

“Well, it’s my fault for asking that question…” Fujisaki frowned. “I shouldn’t have asked…”

“I said it’s _fine_!” Naegi insisted. “I just wasn’t expecting it—c’mon, just please stop crying!”

It took a total of five minutes for Fujisaki to finally stop crying. Naegi was relieved…and Fujisaki was just embarrassed. She made Naegi worry over nothing…

…

“Kind…” Naegi suddenly said.

Fujisaki blinked. “Huh?”

“So long as they’re kind, looks shouldn’t matter…I think.” Naegi wasn’t too sure. “Probably…I don’t know…”

“Um…what are you talking about?” Fujisaki furrowed her brow.

“You asked me what kind of boy did I like…” Naegi puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. “Did you forget?”

“O-Oh!” Fujisaki blushed. “I-I’m sorry—I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just…you were a little vague…”

“You’re right about that…” Naegi sighed. “I’m the one who should be sorry, so don’t apologize…”

Fujisaki nodded. “Okay…s-so…you like that type of boy?”

“I don’t know…” Naegi’s face flushed. “I never liked a boy in that way before…or anyone, actually. I just…don’t know…but I guess…it would be nice if they were kind.”

“I see…” Fujisaki understood. “Kindness is important…is there anything else?”

“Hmm…” Naegi thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think so…?”

“What if they were strong?” Fujisaki asked. “Is strength important…?”

“I guess that’d be okay…” Naegi considered it. “They have to at least be strong enough to protect those who are important to them—do you like strong guys?”

“I…admire them…their strength…” Fujisaki replied. “I want to be strong, too…”

“Oogami-san offered to help you work out,” Naegi remarked. “Are you going to take up her offer?”

“I…” Fujisaki stammered. “I…”

“If you want, I can also work out with you,” Naegi suggested. “That way, you don’t have to be alone…”

“H-Huh?!” Fujisaki hadn’t been expecting that. “Wh-Why?”

Naegi rubbed the back of her head. “I don’t consider myself weak, but…I think it’s important to stay fit. Haha…”

“Wh-What’s so funny?” Fujisaki looked questioningly at Naegi.

“We were talking about what kind of boys that I liked and somehow, the subject changed to this…” Naegi couldn’t help but find that funny. “It’s just…this is what usually happens whenever Komaru-chan starts asking me about boys.”

“Komaru-chan…?” Fujisaki tilted her head to the side.

“Oh, right…Komaru-chan is my little sister,” Naegi explained. “Of course, she doesn’t look like it when she stands next to me…but I’m still the older one.”

“I see…” Fujisaki had just learned something new about Naegi.

“Komaru-chan says I have boring taste in boys…” Naegi laughed. “She thinks it’s because I have so many male friends…in fact, I think she’s the only female friend I really have.”

“You must have a good relationship with your little sister, then…” Fujisaki could only assume. “S-So…you’re friends with a lot of guys?”

Naegi grinned as she rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah…they’re pretty cool, though.”

“Do you…like any of them?” Fujisaki found herself asking.

“Like…?” Naegi made a face. “Why would I like them? They’re practically like brothers to me.”

“How did you make so many male friends, anyway?” Fujisaki was curious about that.

“W-Well…” Naegi smiled nervously. “It all happened about a month before I entered the first grade. While I was at the park, a group of boys came up to me and asked me if I wanted to play with them. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I played with them…and that’s how I met most of my friends.”

“I see…” Fujisaki was surprised. “So that’s how…”

“I’m not done, though…” Naegi sighed. “The thing is, during the first day of school, I found out that my friends and I were in the same class, which I was happy about… However, that was _also_ the day I was wearing a brand-new dress my mom had recently bought me. So to make a long story short, my friends thought I was a boy up until then…”

“S-So it wasn’t just us?!” Fujisaki was baffled.

Naegi crossed her arms. “I still don’t get why anyone could mistake me for a boy…”

“…” Fujisaki had a couple of reasons why, but she decided to stay silent…mostly for Naegi’s sake.

“Anyways, that’s how I made so many male friends…” Naegi continued. “I don’t really mind that they’re all boys. It’s just nice having so many close friends.”

“Have you ever tried making any female friends?” Fujisaki had been wondering about that.

“Well…” Naegi _had_ actually tried making a couple of female friends over the years…but they always ended up using her to get to her male friends. After the third time that it had happened, Naegi had just become very wary of making any female friends…at least, any of them that showed interest in her male friends, which was quite frequent because Naegi had the luck of making friends with boys who grew up to be quite the lookers. “It’s…complicated. So…what do you say? Do you want me to work out with you or not?”

“Um…” Fujisaki thought very carefully about Naegi’s offer. Fujisaki was still wary about the locker rooms, but…Naegi had offered to come with her. Naegi was really being nice about it, too… “O-Okay…”

Naegi smiled. “Great! Just tell me when, and I’ll make sure to come along!”

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Fujisaki’s face. “R-Right…um…what are we going to wear?”

Naegi blinked. “Wear…? Oh, I think I saw some jerseys in the warehouse the other day. You wanna go check it out?”

“S-Sure!” Fujisaki replied.

…

When Naegi and Fujisaki went to the warehouse to look through the available jerseys, they found out that the warehouse _also_ carried standard gym uniforms, of which Naegi and Fujisaki were quick to ignore. They were never exactly fans of bloomers and considering how much more modest the jerseys were…Naegi and Fujisaki were quite content to stick with jerseys.

As Naegi and Fujisaki were looking through the available jerseys, Fujisaki decided to ask a simple question.

“N-Naegi-kun…would you mind if we spent a little more time talking together after this?” Fujisaki asked shyly. “I mean, if it isn’t too much trouble…”

“Yeah, sure,” Naegi replied. “Say, I think this blue jersey might fit you…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANOTHER EFFING CHAPTER, WOO. STILL not behind on work and my Media Arts class just got freaking better because my professor decided to drop the reading quizzes! ^^ I’m so happy because I was horrible at those reading quizzes and, so far, I’ve done well on the class assignments and I got a C- on the first test, so I think it’s safe to say that I’m definitely passing THIS class…ESPECIALLY since those reading quizzes don’t count anymore! ^^  
> Classes aside, I had fun writing this chapter…maybe because Fukawa and Fujisaki were in it. That’s probably the reason, and also, one thing about Naegi is that Naegi is a pretty optimistic character…which is why you get fem!Naegi wondering why people would mistake her for male. That optimism is the reason why Naegi isn’t so caught up over the fact that people have mistaken her for male, because it’s more that she’s wondering why it would have happened in the first place. This is just an interesting little fact that I wanted to say…  
> Also, I don’t know why, but I have a MIGHTY need to see Fujisaki and Naegi being workout buddies…so chances are, you gonna get that from me. Like, I’m not even joking. Anyways, I know it’s a short chapter, but it just felt right to end it there…I’m like that. I’ll try to make the next chapter longer…key word: try. Whatever happens, happens, that seems to be a thing when it comes to this story…  
> And a reminder, I still do take suggestions, so suggest away if you have anything. Just keep it within my limitations of what I can and cannot write. Also, keep in consideration the current chemistry everyone currently has with each other, so nothing too drastic, unless it’s something like Ishimaru walking in on Naegi while she’s bathing…yeah…  
> Well, that’s about it for this chapter, so I hope you guys enjoyed it! Until next time, everyone!


	14. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this isn't an update, but I need to get this off my chest and bring up a certain issue.

So like, this a heads-up to everyone who has been keeping up with this story for so long, because the amount of people thinking I've dropped this story is concerning. First off, I'm sorry for the lack of updates and like, about a year ago, I WAS going through the motions of actually editing this story and just fixing and expanding, but it was also around that time that I was starting to get harassed.

Like, one day out of the blue, I get someone thinking that situation with Ishimaru and Naegi was an actual thing. Then they found out it wasn't, but proceeded to give suggestions for it anyway. It was funny at first…but then it got creepy when they kept adding more and more comments and like, it ended up pushing me away from this fic.

I would've ignored it on my own, but I was in a rough spot last year, because I had an issue with my debit card that I had to cancel it and get a new one because of a situation that put my account in the negatives. About a month after that, my friend committed suicide and school has REALLY done such a number on me.

So here you have this asshole harassing me for NSFW Ishimaru/Naegi and going onto my other fics, saying fics like Façade doesn't deserve to have 50 chapters. For the record, I don't write smut, but I can be suggestive, but what was creepy about this is that the harasser wanted Ishimaru and Naegi to do the deed and Naegi getting pregnant because Monokuma poked a hole in the condom.

More to it, they were all going with Naegi being younger than Ishimaru by a year like, "Wouldn't it be cool if Naegi was younger than Ishimaru by a year?" and I haven't told you guys this as I have others, but I AM a CSA/COCSA survivor (google it if you don't know what it is, I don't have the energy to explain), so stuff like that IS a sensitive subject to me when done in a creepy light. Like, it's one thing just requesting smut, but saying something like that is just…fucking creepy? Like, why that specifically?

And again, the pregnant suggestion? THEY'RE TEENAGERS, FUCKING HELL. They're not ready for that shit, for fuck's sake!

I had friends tell off the harasser, but they ended up playing the victim card and pretending to be different commenters by saying I'm overreacting, when I was so stressed and JUST…falling apart.

I failed a class that semester and barely passed most of my classes because of how stressful it was, especially since I was taking a tax training course. I really WANT to get back to this fic and I want to apologize for leaving it like this, but like, I just want you guys to know, AGAIN, I haven't given up on this fic. I'll get back to it when I get back to it.

Just trust me on that.

I've been doing a lot better since then (harasser has stopped, too), especially to those who have been following my twitch, YouTube, and tumblr, because guess who got  _Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony_? This dude right here. I've been streaming it since the day it came out and I recently finished it (I'm currently streaming the Talent Development Plan), so you can find the videos of it on my YouTube, [right here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5i_wUXYIo3Yu-fNE43H2IjVcimMJWWkt). Do feel free to check them out because I DO talk about fanfiction, especially a DRV3 fic that's in the making based on the interactions from the chat…and then some.

So yeah, keep an eye out for a DRV3 fic from me. And trust me when I say, this might just be the fic that brings me back to the DR fandom again and get me working on this fic again.

Again, just know I haven't given up on this fic. And to everyone who has been waiting patiently for an update and supporting this fic? Thank you so much! It means so much to me!

I'm glad I managed to catch your interest and again, sorry I haven't been updating, but I'll try my best to eventually get back to it! So until then, be patient, yeah? Sorry if I got your hopes up with this update, but I promise, this story is still alive!

So until next time, everyone! See ya!

**KD**


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